RuPaul's Drag Race season 18

Last updated

RuPaul's Drag Race
Season 18
RuPauls-Drag-Race-S18.jpg
Promotional poster for season eighteen
Hosted by RuPaul
Judges
No. of contestants14
Companion show Untucked!
Release
Original network MTV
Original releaseJanuary 2, 2026 (2026-01-02)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 17
List of episodes

The eighteenth season of the American television series RuPaul's Drag Race is slated to premiere in January 2026. [1] This marks the fourth season to air through cable network MTV.

Contents

Development

On August 20, 2024, MTV announced the series renewal for Season 18 along with its companion series RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked . [2] Casting for the eighteenth season began on September 30, 2024 with a deadline of December 6, 2024. [3]

Marketing

Sesason 17 winner Onya Nurve presented the contestants through the series official YouTube channel on December 2, 2025. [1]

Contestants

RuPaul's Drag Race season 18 contestants and their backgrounds [a]
ContestantAgeHometownOutcome
Athena Dion38 Miami, FloridaTBA
Briar Blush25 Boston, Massachusetts
Ciara MystTBA Indianapolis, Indiana
Darlene Mitchell34 Los Angeles, California
DD Fuego37 New York City, New York
Discord Addams35 St. Petersburg, Florida
Jane Don't32 Seattle, Washington
Juicy Love Dion24Miami, Florida
Kenya PleaserTBA Sumter, South Carolina
Mandy Mango29 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mia Starr39 West Palm Beach, Florida
Myki Meeks29 Orlando, Florida
Nini Coco29 Denver, Colorado
Vita VonTesse Starr38 Montgomery, Alabama

Contestant progress

Legend:

  WIN indicates that the contestant won the challenge.
  TOP2 indicates that the contestant was one of the two best performing in the challenge, but lost the lip sync to win it.
  SAFE indicates that the contestant was declared safe by the judges.
  BTM (Bottom) indicates that the contestant was up for elimination.
  ELIM (Eliminated) indicates that the contestant was eliminated.
  Guest indicates that the contestant remained or returned as a guest.
Contestants progress with placements in each episode
ContestantEpisode
1 [5]
Athena DionGuest
Briar BlushGuest
Ciara MystSAFE
Darlene MitchellGuest
DD FuegoSAFE
Discord AddamsGuest
Jane Don’tGuest
Juicy Love DionSAFE
Kenya PleaserSAFE
Mandy MangoSAFE
Mia StarrGuest
Myki MeeksGuest
Nini CocoWIN
Vita VonTesse StarrTOP2

Lip syncs

Legend:

  The contestant won the lip sync to win the challenge.
  The contestant was eliminated after their first time in the bottom.
  The contestant won the final round of the Lip Sync LaLaPaRuZa Smackdown and was declared Queen of She Done Already Done Had Herses.
  The contestant won the Lip Sync for the Crown and was declared the winner of the season.
EpisodeTop contestantsSongWinner
1TBAvs.TBA"TBA"
(TBA)		-

Episodes

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleOriginal release date
2391"Reclaim! Renew! Rejoice!"January 2, 2026 (2026-01-02)

Footnotes

  1. ↑ All ages, names, with hometowns, and outcome are stated at time of filming. [4]

References

  1. 1 2 Tangcay, Jazz (December 2, 2025). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Reveals 14 New Queens for Season 18". Variety. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  2. ↑ "RuPaul's Drag Race Renewed For Season 18 At MTV & Paramount+ Picks Up RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars For Season 11". August 20, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Calling all queens! Casting for #DragRace Season 18 beings TODAY". September 30, 2024.
  4. ↑ Nolfi, Joey (December 4, 2024). ""RuPaul's Drag Race" season 18 cast of queens revealed — and they're 'out for blood'". Entertainment Weekly . Dotdash Meredith . Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  5. ↑ "tba". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 18. Episode 1. January 2, 2026. MTV / WOW Presents Plus.
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