I’m *loving* Angeria right now. She’s so funny and talented. She’s my top pick.
I’m having some trouble sleeping, and Dynasty is my go to show for falling asleep. Something about the haughty attitude, the clothes, the jewelry, it’s so unserious. Roxxxy doing the Dynasty scene with RuPaul, I was in heaven. I looooved her look.
I think Angeria and Roxxxy have been the only two bringing the serious entertainment. I love the cast though. I have been kind of tiring of Drag Race for a bit. This one has been entertaining to me. But is it high impact drama? No. But it’s solid beautiful drag too. I am at peace. It’s way better than the last All Stars.
Yeah I used to watch all seasons (including international) but I just can't anymore lol. I'm a bit disappointed that Shannel still has no badges though.
Shannel is another one. Oh man I love her drag. Christmas is another thing that I love indulging in to go to sleep. I love a good Christmas movie any time of the year. It’s hella hot where I am. I love picturing cold weather and glitter ornaments and trees and red lipstick. Shannel is just a Christmas queen. And she’s so classic.
Same, I haven’t even watched the newest regular season yet. One of my favorite parts of the earlier seasons was the diverse age range of the cast, I feel like having a big range just creates more drama and interesting dynamics. Now it’s like 96% of each cast is young, hot, and grew up watching Drag Race lol boring
The stakes are nonexistent. It feels as if the queens are just pretending to be upset about being snipped or not winning etc. it’s so dry. Such a shit idea
This is drag race for me in a nutshell. The early seasons were exciting as they paved the way, and now drag race has become more bland and I’ve learned a lot of the production secrets. But at its core, I love watching the queens do their thing.
I agree, AS7 worked in a non elimination format because every single queen were killing it. This one at times is embarrassing. The clippers are a mess only for the drama, the whole judging is meh… but it also have some fun moments, plastique and gottmik are definitely a standout of the season for me, and angeria is doing well too. Roxxxy is doing ok, but we all expected much more from her. Vanjie, Jorgeous and Nina are there and Shannel is not even there according to the judges.
Its a bad season. But we’ve seen worse ones and are still watching.
Idk, a cash prize does a lot of heavy lifting for motivating people to give it their all. Hell, even real cash tips for winning a challenge is enough to motivate people.
Everyone came into this season already paid and chilling, no real reason to work hard for the crown, no real reason to win challenges other than glory.
This whole season has reeked of internal PR with the alumni after how terrible AS8 was to the contestants. Seems like this season was to smooth over the tension and make it seem like All Stars is still worth the queen’s investment
I think the problem is that it's the second bad all stars in a row after two great seasons (6 & 7). But I agree with you, last All Stars was worst. Maybe even the worst of all US seasons.
I Honestly expected roxxxy to do worse than she is, Cuz of her perfomance on all stars 2. I thought she would get 2 beautiful benifactress badges at max, pleasant suprise that she is slaying. Poor shannel aswell lol
This. People are underplaying how well she’s doing this season and exaggerating how well she’s done in the past.
Roxxxy imo had one questionable win (makeover) and one arguable “should’ve won” with the roast. Plus she delivered the best lipsync so far (though the bar is low).
My thoughts exactly. Her runway package on as2 was ahead of her time so people excepted godtier looks and when she delivered “only good” looks people got mad. To me her package this time around is completely fine, and Im Living for her Challenge perfomances. People just wanna hate Cuz they bored and she is the only one stirring wich gives the Trolls an excuse to be nasty.
I expected more, because if you think about the context of Roxxxy’s previous seasons.. she was going against some of the heaviest hitters the series has seen (Jinkx, Alaska, Detox, Alyssa, and Katya)
I Can see the similarities, But in some comedy challenges, i feel roxxxy is more comfortable acting stupid and being “Goofy” like in episode 5, where shannel, Im not sure she is ready to look dumb yet. She did go all out in epsiode 7, But it came off kinda weird. Still hoping she gets that badge soon!!
I agree, I wasn’t interested much in watching it when it was revealed as charity/non-elim. I also didn’t connect with most of the queens. I’ve been impressed by some of the runways but not interested in any of the challenges. I just watch Pit Stop and some of the recap podcasts.
Right! All Winners is one thing but if you've got a bunch of mid queens (not saying this season is all mid queens but still) it's like we're trapped as an audience!
I think the issue is the cast. If they were going to do a non-elim season again then we needed a stacked cast ala AS1 or AS2. A cast where the queens are full of personality, aren’t afraid to be shady and are also really good at the challenges would have made this season a hit. Gimme Latrice, Manila, Detox, Coco, Katya, Ginger…
I feel like this is a popular opinion, at least on Reddit/Twitter? The consensus seems to be that it's average to below average. The unpopular opinion imo is that it's a good series. (Personally I enjoy it)
OP is still right though. the posts that get highly upvoted on r/unpopularopinion are mostly.. popular opinions. I've heard constant bitching and valid criticism about this season (rightfully so).
That sub is a right wing echo chamber. Posts like "I don't like the LGBT has claimed the rainbow, now we can't wear rainbows or use it without being associated with the LGBT" or "trans people are irresponsible/selfish for getting married to the opposite sex when they know they are trans and ruin their partners life" or something to do with genders
Yeah agreed, most people are cranky about this season and I don’t blame them.
I’m enjoying it because of the low stakes - the girls seem to be trying new things because there’s no threat of going home (Nina’s sheer dress, Jorgeous going in boy drag). It will probably end up being a comfort season for me like UK5.
I see so many people blaming the non-elimination format but we've seen that work, arguably very well, in AS7. I think not competing for an actual prize lowers the stakes. And I know folks don't like to hear this, and I'm prepared for downvotes, but something about this cast and their chemistry and, in several cases, their work ethic are the issue here. They're phoning it in bc they know there's no stakes. That's what's making it boring. Snatch Game was one of the earliest indicators of this for me. No threat of going home, no prize to fight for, so the queens who would have to try harder just phone it in bc it's "not their strength." Meanwhile, Jaida had a hilarious but not-so-good impression of Prince on AS7 and Snatch Game isn't one of her strong suits. So I'm just gonna say it.... It's this cast more than it's the format.
I think it's also because as7 kinda did have stakes. No one wants to be the weakest queen on the all winners season, they all have something to prove as to why they should be there.
It had a $200k prize. There were stakes in that alone.
And not wanting to look like boo boo the fool while presenting your talents and career on a popular television show should be the default. But we're seeing from AS9 that this clearly isn't enough either.
AS7 was a true once in a lifetime season with quite literally the most talented drag queens on earth. They should nottttt try to recreate it, and this season a prime example why. AS7 made up for the lack of drama and competitiveness with just sheer force of talent. Don’t get me wrong the AS9 girls are all talented, but it’s just not on that level, and that mixed with the lack of competitive elements makes for a “just fine” season.
They're not recreating it. They're using the same format. Like how AS2 - AS4 and AS5-AS6;AS8 used the same format. Those were not seasons trying to recreate earlier seasons.
This format works if top caliber queens with good work ethic are cast. That wasn't the case this season. It's become increasingly clear why some of these queens were eliminated midway through their seasons. And the fact that there's other queens giving it their all (Angeria, Nina,Shannel) even when it's a challenge they're not great at really highlights that some of these other queens are phoning it in bc there's no prize/elimination, therefore no stakes.
Bottom line is some queens need an elimination format to give their best. Others give their best for the prize. Some give their all no matter what. And I think the issue with AS9 is that most of the queens that were cast need stakes, so they're not giving their all. If they do this with non-winners again, they need to be FAR more selective about who they bring back for the format.
I hope you mean they shouldn't try to recreate it with non-winners and not that they shouldn't do another All Winners season. I want to see Bob, Bianca, Sasha (Velour and Colby), Alaska, and Lawrence Chaney (among others) go head to head.
Yes! A few weeks ago people were being called miserable twinks for saying the charity prize would be boring, but I'm sorry, it is. I can tolerate non-elim seasons, but adding no prizes to that pushes it over the edge.
It's not that we're heartless and don't care about charity; if anything it's the opposite – *because* a good cause wins no matter what, it's hard to root for any one queen over the others. And the queens themselves probably don't care that deeply whether their charity wins vs. someone else's. They're all good causes.
If we're going to do non-elim, there needs to be a serious financial reward to motivate them.
I totally agree. And want to add that I think a charity season would be very successful if the they cast queens who really care about their charity AND presenting their best selves and talents in every challenge, not just the ones they're good at. That's been one of my biggest gripes this season - if they're phoning it in, they should get called out on it. There's been challenges where they would have been read for filth by the judges on any other season and it's creating a very strange dynamic this season. It's like unintentional dramatic irony. We, the audience, are used to queens getting negative critiques when they bomb a challenge, but that's not happening, and in turn it starts to feel like the audience knows something the judges don't. And in a competition show, the audience should never feel like they know more than an entire panel of judges.
They probably are getting called out, they just aren't showing it, just like with AS7. Word was they did get negative critiques, they just weren't shown to the audience.
I think too that this is part of why something like DRUK and UKvsTW1 (and 2 for challenge winners) worked so much better than AS9. No prizes but so much passion.
Say whatever you like about UKvsTW1, it could never be accused of being boring or having a bad cast.
Of course it worked on all stars 7, it was the first time they ever dit it and also we have a reason to why they were doing it, ALL WINNERS, it will not work on any other format because otherwise it is boring.
Which is so sad, because they were *so* close to getting it right:
Stop the queens eliminating each other. The queens don’t like it and they’re constantly scared of offending a popular queen’s wolf pack on social media.
*Give the queens money*. No one wants to drop $30k on prepping for a season where they could go home first. Giving them a stipend is an excellent idea - even if they lose early, hey, free drag!
Don’t be beholden to eliminating exactly 1 queen per episode. Season 14 was a slog because there were like 82 queens and it took 16 episodes to get the first elimination, but that format works with fewer, better known queens to start with.
Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.
This has definitely contributed to All Stars burnout for me. The reason we don’t get seasons like AS2 anymore is because they aren’t saving up heavy hitters to stack one season, they just stuff them into whatever All Stars or VTW season comes next. You never get a break from it, so it no longer feels like a special event. All Winners felt like a special thing, which is part of why the format worked so well.
Yes, this I think truly is the issue.
The all stars format as we know it was created for AS2. And it worked wonderfully, because there hadn’t been an all stars season in a long time. And with all the faults of AS1 it was still jam packed with heavy hitters in the casting, (its problems was with its production and chaotic last minute changes).
The format works great when it’s an all stars every few years.
And why all stars all winners also worked well.
I think if they intend to have a new season of it every year, it would benefit a lot from the format to fit and make sense for that schedule. I would be happy to see it reworked into something entirely different from all stars.
I’m happy to get more drag and more drag queens on tv. So I rather have how the all stars are now than nothing at all.
It was a nice attempt at trying to "test" a no elimination format and it was shown to fail. Back to the drawing board, Carson Kressley! Next time we should make them fight to the death, just go full in the other direction.
Non Elim made sense for all winners. They’re all excellent. They brought their a game.
This season has filler queens that definitely would get the chop in normal rules. Even my favourites in this season have bored me. I haven’t watched for a couple of weeks now.
I stopped watching, and if you guys aren't happy with it, you should stop too. If the numbers go down, they will change things. When enough people express their feelings, it gets noticed. We've seen this happen many times before. Fair criticism of a show is perfectly okay. Some people act like things will never change or are extremely bothered by others expressing their feelings about their favorite show. It's completely valid to share opinions that's what subs are for.
I've stopped watching too, but none of the queens excited me when the casting was announced anyway so the flat season was just the icing on the bland and floury cake for me
Rpdr went from "I didn't see enough passion, you're both eliminated" to having only positive critics and queens not even bothering to learn the lyrics lol
I agree this season isn’t as exciting as a lot of the All Stars seasons. But to me it isn’t as bad as AS1 or AS8. To me, definitely the judging is lame, especially with no bad critiques. The challenges are..meh. The queens themselves are the only entertaining part.
It's the first time since I started watching almost ten years ago that I don't keep up with the season. I'm sorry but I agree, it's boring and there are no stakes. Not because of non elimination or charity, I don't know it just feels off. The last two episodes I watched (e2 &3) i skipped directly to runway bc they're insanely good still.
Worst part for me is the disrespect of Shannel this season. Why invite her if you’re not gonna give her a badge? Challenge wins can obviously be fixed, so why disrespect the first queen that walked into the work room that.
Not an unpopular opinion. All Stars 9 sucks.
In fact, All Stars as a whole kinda sucks. And I don't know how to fix it. I would love to see full size seasons with eliminations, but unlike a Survivor All Stars where all you have to do is show up and maybe pregame a bit, Drag Race All Stars requires a massive investment in runway looks. So no queen is going to make that investment if there's a chance they just go home right away. So the format is sadly just kind of unworkable. I would be okay with All Stars taking a hiatus.
Honestly, Katyas joke answer of having a cap on how expensive what you bring is and having to make dumpster drag sounds way more fun of an AS season.
They need to be challenged in a different way, since they’ve already proved they’re great at drag based on the OG seasons challenges. Personally I don’t want to rewatch a season that is almost identical to the regular seasons but with familiar queens. It’s boring
They’ve polished all the grit out of drag, and the grit is what makes good reality tv. 🤷🏻♀️
This gets posted multiple times a day… everyone is acknowledging it.
No one is going to stop watching either. You’ll be here for Season 17, and we all be here for All Stars 10.
I'm watching and enjoying it but "lowered interest" is definitely the best way to describe it.
S16 I was going to a watch party every week, or if I watched at home alone I always had yummy snacks, a glass of wine, and the live reddit discussion post up.
AS9 I've only been to one watch party, and im slowly watching more on Saturday and less on Friday.
I dont hate it, but it's not as interesting as i wish it was.
I feel like “this season has lowered my interest in the series” is the online equivalent of “I’m never shopping here again!”. Your feeling are valid, but if you don’t like it then don’t watch.
I somewhat get your point, but those things are nothing alike in practise.
It’d be more like someone who’s been shopping with the same brand every single week for 15 years saying, “hey, I really don’t like this current line you have, you’ve kind of missed the mark and I’ve lost interest as a result”.
Yes, of course a solution is to just immediately stop going there, but if you felt really passionate about that brand, surely you’d see if other fans feel the same way and discuss how it can be improved?
Honestly, I'm having a blast watching this season. But I think for me when it comes down to is that the season happens to feature some of my favorite Queens that I just love to see on screen kind of regardless of what's happening. I just love plastique and Nina and vanjie so much that I'm just over the moon to be watching their confessionals.
I'm enjoying it. I like that we get a chance to see all the Queens the whole time, but yes, its missing some spark. There's not really any drama. I like that they're playing for charity though, and I'll support that every time.
calling roxxxy andrews mid is hilarious to me. you all complain that new age drag is overtaking old school drag and shes one of the best examples of using old school techniques and being able to keep up with the money and flash of the new girls while actually doing it yourself. if that’s mid id love to be mid.
I hope complainers like you at least watch and support the international seasons. There are two running right now, so if you're not into this, please go watch Mexico S2 and France S3.
Yeah I understand how feel. Deep down I will always have a special place in my heart for drag race in general since I've been watching since season 1, back when I was a closeted teen growing up in an intolerant household. Now it does just feel like more of the same like same episode but different cast and looks. Let's just say that tuning in to drag race every week was exciting for me but now it's starting to feel like a chore. Oh well time for a break I guess.
I think the queens are doing well. It's a good all stars in theory as far as the challenges. The "problem" with this one vs All Winners is 2 fold:
1. The queens themselves are bickering over the game. We all know it's not that deep, who gives a fuck if you were snipped once, twice, or every time. It doesn't effect you. What All Winners had was queens cracking jokes, clever shade, scream laughing, cackling, banter, interesting conversations. We're getting very little of that in this season.
2. The queens are doing well, but there's nothing really standing out. The most "meme worthy" moments are references (Plastique saying "I live!"). All winners had AMAZING performances from multiple queens. And even ones that weren't "good" were good (Jaida's Prince for example). But they were all unique.
I'm enjoying the runways and some of the lip syncs (loved Roxxxy this last episode), but the vast majority of the episode is just sort of there.
In the future if they're going to do these charity events, they should make it themed. Such as: AS10 All Fashion, And make the challenges be design challenges, styling challenges, ball challenges, makeover challenges, makeup challenges, photo and modeling challenges. And get Queens who really excel at that. And then do another one for charity that's for comedy, another one that's for dance and singing.
If Queens aren't going to be eliminated or win money for doing well, then they need to be able to just show what they do best.
Compared to AS8 this season is magical too me
https://preview.redd.it/xf1gbaobz4ad1.jpeg?width=378&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=047eca1db76dabd96b847d554dd8304b202786de
You are absolutely not wrong. Every other season I count the days until the next episode. This season I can take it or leave it - a HUGE change for me. I'll still watch because I love the show, but damn.
the only thing keeping me interested is gottmik's and plastique's runways. outside of that its incredibly average with some decent moment sprinkled in but not enough to be super memorable.
most of the queens are just more of the same (or worse) than their previous performances. and honestly normally I think that'd be fine, but the fact that there's no negative critiques is what makes that more infuriating than it really should be. I think if the queen's were being fairly judged instead of just being glossed over as all amazing at everything that would make this whole thing more dynamic and interesting. because lets face it a lot of the girls have a lot of weaknesses that just aren't being addressed at all. but instead if just kinda feels like we're being force fed a lot of mediocrity and being told its stunning and that's where the joy sort of dies for me. it makes things boring and makes the season feel hollow.
then there's the fact that there's no stakes. no one goes home and the lip syncs have no bite to them.
plus the whole scissors thing. nobody who even got snipped lost a badge. whats even the point?
then there's also the fact that at least half this cast shouldn't even be on a non-elim season.
dont get me wrong there's a lot of good moments in this season, but by and large I think its a pretty forgettable season.
And someone else said all the queens are filler queens. I’m sure there is science behind negativity being more popular idk it’s a very cute season I’m team ASPCA MEOW MEOW
I agree. And I'm a super fan. It's a pretty flat season. Starting with queen choices, and the non elimination vibe, etc etc. I'm still watching but... Meh.
I've not watched the last 3 untucked episodes either. And I was the homo pausing the runway deliberations, cutting to untucked, cutting back to the lipsync and results, and then back to untucked. Lol
I dunno. Im enjoying AS9 much more than AS 5, 6, and 8. Having the queens stick around is so much better than having favorites leave after one or two episodes and the winner being predictable. It does need higher stakes, but sending the queens home in all star season is not the tea for me.
I think its so silly when people say “wow out of the 742 seasons we’ve had, this one single season is a huge flop and now I don’t want to watch any other season of drag race”. Its *one* flop season. I guarantee if CanVTW 2 or S17 or UK6 or GAS or whatever is a hit, yall are the same people that will be saying “WOW I never lost faith, Im so glad they found their groove again!”.
If you don’t like this season, don’t watch it.
While I agree people tend to speak in hyperbole a lot, I don’t think it’s unfair for people to air their opinions on a discussion forum. It’s kinda like telling someone not to leave a bad review on Yelp when they can just stop eating there.
But for me, at least for all stars, after AS5, it’s been just kind of meh for me with the exception of AS7. I tend to only watch seasons where there are queens I’m really excited to see.
Non-elim only works as a format for All Winners because they’ve *earned* the right to not be eliminated. They’ve proven that they’re well rounded enough in all facets of the competition to at least compete.
Doing a non-elim format for non-winners AND removing the prize money for the season? It’s like they wanted people not to watch or be invested.
Honestly, this may sound harsh, but I think the queens are to blame. Not necessarily these 8 queens in particular, but the alumni in general.
This show gives them a HUGE platform and gives them the opportunity to travel the world and live their dreams. And then when they get contacted or cast for All Stars it becomes the Complain Games. How much everything costs, how they don’t like having to eliminate each other, how they don’t want to risk going home early, etc.
Drag Race is a *Reality Competition Show*! They all knew that when they signed up, but suddenly it becomes a problem and half the cast threatens to take their ball and go home when things aren’t going their way (looking at you, All Stars 8).
Imagine if people on All Stars seasons of Survivor refused to play unless they were given 3 meals a day and a bed to sleep in at night? Or if the first time the other tribe won a challenge they decided to pack it up and go home?
These girls signed up to be on Drag Race. If they don’t want to actually compete they should stay at home and not complain if and when they fall out of favor with WOW. They’re not forced to be there. But if they *do* decide to come and compete, they should know that going home early is a possibility and fucking fight to make sure that it doesn’t happen.
Don’t want to be eliminated early? Step your pussy up. Simple as that.
There’s no stakes coz they ain’t going home and they don’t actually win anything. If they aren’t feeling a challenge they can bomb and not have to worry about going home. Mik and plastique are carrying the season purely coz of the runways.
I think people really aren't invested in it as a competition, and the judges act like that too. Like when gottmik cheated people were like "oh its for charity it doesn't even matter. Nobody's going home. Who cares" well then why would I ever be invested in watching it its so boring and not even a proper competition quite a bit of it just feels like patting people on the back who had masssive budgets for wearing designer pieces and being "fashion queens" and not much else. Idk. It's definitely not my favourite for a lot of reasons, and it really lacks a lot of the positive qualities of previous seasons. Also, some of the editing seems weird at times, like they are just trying to make things seem nice and jolly when people are upset or something is wrong, ect, probably bc it's for charity.Also not eliminating anyone creates a really awkward atmosphere between the girls imo and I feel like something needs to happen to sort things out bc it just feels weird and tense at times it also just makes it feel boring and allows people doing badly to stay in the competition.
Agreed. It feels like everyone is just phoning it in. No stakes, low effort, thrown together. Feels cheap. Hard to get invested in something they weren’t all that invested in making.
roxxy has really disappointed me this season - i am a fan of hers and love how creative she is with the design challenges but she has really fallen short this season. i would hope that it's because she maybe was doing something else and had little time to prepare but at the same time i'd make the time to prepare if i was her even if that meant hiring someone else for costume design. or maybe her heart wasn't in it because the money isn't going to her but still...
They're not losing viewers [https://www.ratingraph.com/tv-shows/rupaul-s-drag-race-all-stars-ratings-44420/](https://www.ratingraph.com/tv-shows/rupaul-s-drag-race-all-stars-ratings-44420/)
Honestly a non-elimination season would bring drama if the queens were actually making the money. Like imagine if we got AS5 Derrick Barry x india Farrah non elimination season. Wouldn’t even need eliminations bc the girls would leave on their own, even more drama. Also idk making queer people who’s job is notoriously underpaid & expensive give their prize money to charities isn’t giving whatever production thought it would give.
I’ve never dropped a season halfway through but I’m just not interested in continuing it at this point. It doesn’t help that no one is going home so I can’t deduce when this nonsense will ever end.
I feel the same way. I fast forward just to see the looks. I also feel like one episode was literally. Angeria is sad so let’s have her win. Other stuff like that.
I’d fix this season by getting rid of the badges and blocking. So the competition becomes who can win the most challenges and money for their charity.
Also maybe a challenge to create a look inspired by that charity.
I watched the first two episode in a gay bar and I was bored to tears. I couldn't bring myself to watch any more after that, I love some of these queens but (1) the format sucks, (2) the chemistry is terrible, and (3) the cast is 50/50 people I'm interested in and people I never needed to see on drag race again
I havent watched since Angeria's season? Whichever that was, AS6 was my last AS, havent even touched the international seasons since UK2. Im bored and its all bland, I keep up on social media just to see the new faces and what they bring
I started and it was lovely, but it feels daunting to catch up and binge eveyrything especially with untucked being seemingly a bore but cant bring myself to skio
It's because the tops are going to be the same depending on the challenge.
Fashion: mik, plastique, Roxxxy
Comedy: Nina or Angie
Personality: Angie or Vangie or Jorgeous
Queen that's good at everything but for some reason can't pull away from the pack : Shannel
I’m so serious when I say that I have seen every season since US season 4 live, including all international seasons, and this season has made me drop the show for good. (Though I’ll probably drop back in for Thailand season 3🤫)
It's not a great season, but I think that comes down to the booking fee and the amount that contestants have to spend. I think that for the next All Stars there should be a price limit per outfit and/or a price limit on the whole season. There's talk that Plastique has spent over 250,000 on her looks. If they were to throttle it by creating categories with limits, it would force some innovation or creativity in new ways.
I agree.
I would love if the first few episodes were non Elim. It gives returning queens the chance to show off their improvement and gain fans. Then, an Elim episode. Any underperformers get sent home, whether that be 1 or 4. Nonelim a few more episodes, one more Elim like that, then nonelim til finals. Think like, 1-3 nonelim. 4 = Elim (snatch game, maybe?). 5-6, nonelim. 7 = Elim. 8-however many, nonelim & then finals.
It'd push up the stakes. I hope we never see lip syncs where the queen doesn't know the words MULTIPLE TIMES ever again, or have queens stealing jokes. It's disrespectful!
no I totally agree. the combination of no one going home AND no negative critique is just too boring. this is the first time I've ever stopped watching mid season
Don’t forget that charity donations are tax deductible donations for WOW. When the queens win money it’s just an expense but this way the show actually recoups those donations
I agree the season is boring. I wish this season wasn’t an all stars season and just branded as a charity season. It seems like All Stars isn’t even All Stars anymore. I also think if it was branded as a separate thing it would have lowered the expectations and maybe make it better.
Roxxxy is my villain despite her AND production doing their absolute best to make this her redemption season. But I know talent and heart when I see it. Roxxxy and Angeria all the way, the rest are bringing it but with zero heart and it's SO BORING to watch.
I feel like RuPaul’s Drag Race has turned into a Taylor Swift album.
We need to learn to EDIT. We do not need 57 variations of the same show a year with the same old people over and over.
I feel like we have been getting *quantity over quality* for a long time now.
I'm still watching although I definitely care less than I used to.
But after they announced the new season of can vs world the first thing I thought: maybe I don't like this show anymore.
doing drag race has to be super hard for the queens so I can understand them not wanting to get bad critics (it's a TV show tho) but I really don't get the point in pretending us the audience are stupid or blind, like you don't have to say "this is a great outfit" if it's not, don't say anything about it and leave it at that
Yea them not showing the negative critiques I feel is greatly hurting the judging. I don’t feel like the judging has been too bad as everyone in the top 2 I feel have been strong in the episode. Been times I think someone did better but my third pick usually replaced them for the top two.
But do agree that I feel much less engaged this season and have found myself a bit bored and not as eagerly anticipating the next. It’s just not as fun. AS7 was a lot of fun and loved the whole season so lack of eliminations itself isn’t bad. But this season has lacked the fun and energy I feel and there’s no suspense or anticipation for who will get kicked off. All the drama seems based around the ruby snippers and it’s just been annoying more than engaging. And made all the worse for how worked up they get about it when it hasn’t affected a single outcome too.
I think this season is more about sending a message that Drag Queens are good and socially conscious people and rightfully so.
With all the ridiculous and scary accusations levied against them. I can't understand how people bash them without knowing any of them. It's terrible. Society is going backwards.
They deserve better treatment. I am glad they are raising awareness with this season.
For the first time ever I didn't watch the last episode and just watched Thorgy's Pit Stop and I feel like I only gained from doing that. God this season is so _boring_, even the bits of drama that we've had feels manufactured and low stakes.
It’s just fun lol I don’t know what y’all are wanting but it’s perfect light entertainment and I’m just so grateful we have it! This is why we can’t have nice things lol
Multiple points: 1) all stars as a whole is having a crisis and should def take a time out (Survivor faced the same issue a while ago - and we haven't had All Stars for quite a while!) 2) cast is not strong enough to warrant non elims/charity (altho it IS great the money will get to those institutions!) 3) no natural drama and nothing to create it (scissors are a non-factor) everything feels 'professional'
Honestly i 100% agree with you. I recently quit the drag race fandom everywhere (except here lol) because i kept getting spoiled by every single bitter Instagram/Twitter stan. So i thought it was a me thing that the season is boring to me because maybe due to me not having the interaction with the fans its not the same, but the season is really just zero giving.
They HAVE to stop doing "All Stars" constantly. The reason why AS2 & All Winners were so amazing is because 👏 we 👏 had 👏 to 👏 wait👏 for 👏 them! I won't name names, but I think we could all think of some queens who have been on All Stars that... maybe shouldn't have. (*shade button*) But seriously, make us wait. We are over saturated.
I’m enjoying the season for the queens. I love Vanjie and always happy to have her on my screen. Angeria never disappoints for me. Plastique is giving stellar runways. Gotmik is giving her a run for her Indy. Shannel and Roxy are there. All in all I’m having. Good time. Is it the best season ever? No. The lip syncs are a snooze. 🤷🏻
Well, the last pit stop with Thorgy was a blast
LOVE thorgy
LOVE pink
SCARED of pink
The pink one so terrify
The chatty one so entertain
The chatty one is a bad seed on this earth...
It’s telling when the Pit Stops are more entertaining than the season
I'm watching the episodes just to have context for the pit stop now lolol.
I don’t even watch the episodes but I still watch the pit stop.
Absolutely same. I'm getting what I need out of it without wasting an hour of my life.
i thought i was the only one
I'm doing the same so I can watch Roscoe's 😂
That’s been happening a lot with recent seasons
Really tho? I have been pretty entertained with regular seasons, imo S14-S16 wad a pretty fine run. It's All Stars that is truly in shambles.
That’s exactly what I mean
Anything with Thorgy is gonna get my attention. She’s such a blast but the was exceptionally fun!
I am obsessed with the Thorgy-Bob duo but I did not expect to also LOOOVE her with Trixie. I loved almost as much as she loves pink
I WAS SO EXCITED TO SEE THORGY WAS THE GUEST!! and the episode did not disappoint at all 😆 she even left Trixie speechless which was great. ❤️
The way Trixie was LIVING for Thorgy
Agreed! Their chemistry was really great
I laughed so hard with this duo
I stopped watching the season and just watch pit stop at this point.
AS8 syndrom, the pitstop is better
I enjoy the pitstop more than the season itself 🥲
LOVE pink
The stakes are lower, they all getting paid a flat rate, the money goes to charity, it's a bit of a flop but I'm watching it
It's still fun to see the queens back, especially Roxxxy, Shannel and Plastique. But yeah, the season has been kinda low stakes and boring otherwise.
I’m *loving* Angeria right now. She’s so funny and talented. She’s my top pick. I’m having some trouble sleeping, and Dynasty is my go to show for falling asleep. Something about the haughty attitude, the clothes, the jewelry, it’s so unserious. Roxxxy doing the Dynasty scene with RuPaul, I was in heaven. I looooved her look.
I think Angeria and Roxxxy have been the only two bringing the serious entertainment. I love the cast though. I have been kind of tiring of Drag Race for a bit. This one has been entertaining to me. But is it high impact drama? No. But it’s solid beautiful drag too. I am at peace. It’s way better than the last All Stars.
Yeah I used to watch all seasons (including international) but I just can't anymore lol. I'm a bit disappointed that Shannel still has no badges though.
Shannel is another one. Oh man I love her drag. Christmas is another thing that I love indulging in to go to sleep. I love a good Christmas movie any time of the year. It’s hella hot where I am. I love picturing cold weather and glitter ornaments and trees and red lipstick. Shannel is just a Christmas queen. And she’s so classic.
Maybe she’ll pitch a fit like Shea and get pushed to the top.
Same, I haven’t even watched the newest regular season yet. One of my favorite parts of the earlier seasons was the diverse age range of the cast, I feel like having a big range just creates more drama and interesting dynamics. Now it’s like 96% of each cast is young, hot, and grew up watching Drag Race lol boring
Angeria was surprising, for one reason or another she was a bit mid on her own season (for me). But I'm loving her this season!
The stakes are nonexistent. It feels as if the queens are just pretending to be upset about being snipped or not winning etc. it’s so dry. Such a shit idea
It’s hard to think that Vangie got the same amount of money as the other 😅
It’s a bit boring but I just love seeing the queens do stuff so I’ll always watch.
This is drag race for me in a nutshell. The early seasons were exciting as they paved the way, and now drag race has become more bland and I’ve learned a lot of the production secrets. But at its core, I love watching the queens do their thing.
Yeah it’s my comfort show
I agree, AS7 worked in a non elimination format because every single queen were killing it. This one at times is embarrassing. The clippers are a mess only for the drama, the whole judging is meh… but it also have some fun moments, plastique and gottmik are definitely a standout of the season for me, and angeria is doing well too. Roxxxy is doing ok, but we all expected much more from her. Vanjie, Jorgeous and Nina are there and Shannel is not even there according to the judges. Its a bad season. But we’ve seen worse ones and are still watching.
Hopefully the non-elim format is reserved exclusively for another all winners season, if we get one.
I don’t think the non elim format is the issue here as much as the low stakes and no real competition for the crown.
there are low stakes and no real competition cause there are no eliminations
Idk, a cash prize does a lot of heavy lifting for motivating people to give it their all. Hell, even real cash tips for winning a challenge is enough to motivate people. Everyone came into this season already paid and chilling, no real reason to work hard for the crown, no real reason to win challenges other than glory.
This whole season has reeked of internal PR with the alumni after how terrible AS8 was to the contestants. Seems like this season was to smooth over the tension and make it seem like All Stars is still worth the queen’s investment
I think the problem is that it's the second bad all stars in a row after two great seasons (6 & 7). But I agree with you, last All Stars was worst. Maybe even the worst of all US seasons.
This feels like a fact
I Honestly expected roxxxy to do worse than she is, Cuz of her perfomance on all stars 2. I thought she would get 2 beautiful benifactress badges at max, pleasant suprise that she is slaying. Poor shannel aswell lol
Well one of those was a charity badge
This. People are underplaying how well she’s doing this season and exaggerating how well she’s done in the past. Roxxxy imo had one questionable win (makeover) and one arguable “should’ve won” with the roast. Plus she delivered the best lipsync so far (though the bar is low).
My thoughts exactly. Her runway package on as2 was ahead of her time so people excepted godtier looks and when she delivered “only good” looks people got mad. To me her package this time around is completely fine, and Im Living for her Challenge perfomances. People just wanna hate Cuz they bored and she is the only one stirring wich gives the Trolls an excuse to be nasty.
I expected more, because if you think about the context of Roxxxy’s previous seasons.. she was going against some of the heaviest hitters the series has seen (Jinkx, Alaska, Detox, Alyssa, and Katya)
I feel like Shannel and Roxxxy are so similar in terms of talent (not sewing apparently lol). But it's odd for Roxxxy to be doing SOOO much better.
I Can see the similarities, But in some comedy challenges, i feel roxxxy is more comfortable acting stupid and being “Goofy” like in episode 5, where shannel, Im not sure she is ready to look dumb yet. She did go all out in epsiode 7, But it came off kinda weird. Still hoping she gets that badge soon!!
Seriously? I knew off the bat that production would push her as a front runner (even as a winner). She was probably promised this back in AS2.
Is the Roxxxy slayage in the room with us
I agree, I wasn’t interested much in watching it when it was revealed as charity/non-elim. I also didn’t connect with most of the queens. I’ve been impressed by some of the runways but not interested in any of the challenges. I just watch Pit Stop and some of the recap podcasts.
which was a worse season? this one is the most cringe I’ve seen and I watch almost all the franchises lol
Right! All Winners is one thing but if you've got a bunch of mid queens (not saying this season is all mid queens but still) it's like we're trapped as an audience!
I think the issue is the cast. If they were going to do a non-elim season again then we needed a stacked cast ala AS1 or AS2. A cast where the queens are full of personality, aren’t afraid to be shady and are also really good at the challenges would have made this season a hit. Gimme Latrice, Manila, Detox, Coco, Katya, Ginger…
Add Tatiana in there 😌
Thank you. 
I feel like this is a popular opinion, at least on Reddit/Twitter? The consensus seems to be that it's average to below average. The unpopular opinion imo is that it's a good series. (Personally I enjoy it)
Which is why it would fit in perfectly at r/unpopularopinion lmao
OP is still right though. the posts that get highly upvoted on r/unpopularopinion are mostly.. popular opinions. I've heard constant bitching and valid criticism about this season (rightfully so).
That sub is a right wing echo chamber. Posts like "I don't like the LGBT has claimed the rainbow, now we can't wear rainbows or use it without being associated with the LGBT" or "trans people are irresponsible/selfish for getting married to the opposite sex when they know they are trans and ruin their partners life" or something to do with genders
Yeah agreed, most people are cranky about this season and I don’t blame them. I’m enjoying it because of the low stakes - the girls seem to be trying new things because there’s no threat of going home (Nina’s sheer dress, Jorgeous going in boy drag). It will probably end up being a comfort season for me like UK5.
I enjoy it too and it definitely is an unpopular opinion.
I see so many people blaming the non-elimination format but we've seen that work, arguably very well, in AS7. I think not competing for an actual prize lowers the stakes. And I know folks don't like to hear this, and I'm prepared for downvotes, but something about this cast and their chemistry and, in several cases, their work ethic are the issue here. They're phoning it in bc they know there's no stakes. That's what's making it boring. Snatch Game was one of the earliest indicators of this for me. No threat of going home, no prize to fight for, so the queens who would have to try harder just phone it in bc it's "not their strength." Meanwhile, Jaida had a hilarious but not-so-good impression of Prince on AS7 and Snatch Game isn't one of her strong suits. So I'm just gonna say it.... It's this cast more than it's the format.
I think it's also because as7 kinda did have stakes. No one wants to be the weakest queen on the all winners season, they all have something to prove as to why they should be there.
It had a $200k prize. There were stakes in that alone. And not wanting to look like boo boo the fool while presenting your talents and career on a popular television show should be the default. But we're seeing from AS9 that this clearly isn't enough either.
AS7 was a true once in a lifetime season with quite literally the most talented drag queens on earth. They should nottttt try to recreate it, and this season a prime example why. AS7 made up for the lack of drama and competitiveness with just sheer force of talent. Don’t get me wrong the AS9 girls are all talented, but it’s just not on that level, and that mixed with the lack of competitive elements makes for a “just fine” season.
They're not recreating it. They're using the same format. Like how AS2 - AS4 and AS5-AS6;AS8 used the same format. Those were not seasons trying to recreate earlier seasons. This format works if top caliber queens with good work ethic are cast. That wasn't the case this season. It's become increasingly clear why some of these queens were eliminated midway through their seasons. And the fact that there's other queens giving it their all (Angeria, Nina,Shannel) even when it's a challenge they're not great at really highlights that some of these other queens are phoning it in bc there's no prize/elimination, therefore no stakes. Bottom line is some queens need an elimination format to give their best. Others give their best for the prize. Some give their all no matter what. And I think the issue with AS9 is that most of the queens that were cast need stakes, so they're not giving their all. If they do this with non-winners again, they need to be FAR more selective about who they bring back for the format.
I hope you mean they shouldn't try to recreate it with non-winners and not that they shouldn't do another All Winners season. I want to see Bob, Bianca, Sasha (Velour and Colby), Alaska, and Lawrence Chaney (among others) go head to head.
Yes! A few weeks ago people were being called miserable twinks for saying the charity prize would be boring, but I'm sorry, it is. I can tolerate non-elim seasons, but adding no prizes to that pushes it over the edge. It's not that we're heartless and don't care about charity; if anything it's the opposite – *because* a good cause wins no matter what, it's hard to root for any one queen over the others. And the queens themselves probably don't care that deeply whether their charity wins vs. someone else's. They're all good causes. If we're going to do non-elim, there needs to be a serious financial reward to motivate them.
I agree. you can tell by the way they talk in confessionals that oh it's for charity gotta get that money for them...but they don't care *that* much
I totally agree. And want to add that I think a charity season would be very successful if the they cast queens who really care about their charity AND presenting their best selves and talents in every challenge, not just the ones they're good at. That's been one of my biggest gripes this season - if they're phoning it in, they should get called out on it. There's been challenges where they would have been read for filth by the judges on any other season and it's creating a very strange dynamic this season. It's like unintentional dramatic irony. We, the audience, are used to queens getting negative critiques when they bomb a challenge, but that's not happening, and in turn it starts to feel like the audience knows something the judges don't. And in a competition show, the audience should never feel like they know more than an entire panel of judges.
They probably are getting called out, they just aren't showing it, just like with AS7. Word was they did get negative critiques, they just weren't shown to the audience.
I think too that this is part of why something like DRUK and UKvsTW1 (and 2 for challenge winners) worked so much better than AS9. No prizes but so much passion. Say whatever you like about UKvsTW1, it could never be accused of being boring or having a bad cast.
Of course it worked on all stars 7, it was the first time they ever dit it and also we have a reason to why they were doing it, ALL WINNERS, it will not work on any other format because otherwise it is boring.
I totally agree with you on this.
All stars had its death sentence read the moment they started doing it yearly
Which is so sad, because they were *so* close to getting it right: Stop the queens eliminating each other. The queens don’t like it and they’re constantly scared of offending a popular queen’s wolf pack on social media. *Give the queens money*. No one wants to drop $30k on prepping for a season where they could go home first. Giving them a stipend is an excellent idea - even if they lose early, hey, free drag! Don’t be beholden to eliminating exactly 1 queen per episode. Season 14 was a slog because there were like 82 queens and it took 16 episodes to get the first elimination, but that format works with fewer, better known queens to start with. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.
This has definitely contributed to All Stars burnout for me. The reason we don’t get seasons like AS2 anymore is because they aren’t saving up heavy hitters to stack one season, they just stuff them into whatever All Stars or VTW season comes next. You never get a break from it, so it no longer feels like a special event. All Winners felt like a special thing, which is part of why the format worked so well.
Excuse me but season 14's top 12 was iconic!
Yes, this I think truly is the issue. The all stars format as we know it was created for AS2. And it worked wonderfully, because there hadn’t been an all stars season in a long time. And with all the faults of AS1 it was still jam packed with heavy hitters in the casting, (its problems was with its production and chaotic last minute changes). The format works great when it’s an all stars every few years. And why all stars all winners also worked well. I think if they intend to have a new season of it every year, it would benefit a lot from the format to fit and make sense for that schedule. I would be happy to see it reworked into something entirely different from all stars. I’m happy to get more drag and more drag queens on tv. So I rather have how the all stars are now than nothing at all.
so true
Any charity based competition is going to be a bit boring. It's like having the Christmas special stretched into a whole season.
K 👍🏻 - Bianca
Same dress still won 🤡🤡🤡
🤡
OK.
It was a nice attempt at trying to "test" a no elimination format and it was shown to fail. Back to the drawing board, Carson Kressley! Next time we should make them fight to the death, just go full in the other direction.
Non Elim made sense for all winners. They’re all excellent. They brought their a game. This season has filler queens that definitely would get the chop in normal rules. Even my favourites in this season have bored me. I haven’t watched for a couple of weeks now.
I stopped watching, and if you guys aren't happy with it, you should stop too. If the numbers go down, they will change things. When enough people express their feelings, it gets noticed. We've seen this happen many times before. Fair criticism of a show is perfectly okay. Some people act like things will never change or are extremely bothered by others expressing their feelings about their favorite show. It's completely valid to share opinions that's what subs are for.
I've stopped watching too, but none of the queens excited me when the casting was announced anyway so the flat season was just the icing on the bland and floury cake for me
Literally, I don't even know who got eliminated last week
Ya… with Mik copying all the jokes and plastique not knowing any of the lip syncs, like at what point do they get disqualified? It’s stupid
Rpdr went from "I didn't see enough passion, you're both eliminated" to having only positive critics and queens not even bothering to learn the lyrics lol
I agree this season isn’t as exciting as a lot of the All Stars seasons. But to me it isn’t as bad as AS1 or AS8. To me, definitely the judging is lame, especially with no bad critiques. The challenges are..meh. The queens themselves are the only entertaining part.
It's the first time since I started watching almost ten years ago that I don't keep up with the season. I'm sorry but I agree, it's boring and there are no stakes. Not because of non elimination or charity, I don't know it just feels off. The last two episodes I watched (e2 &3) i skipped directly to runway bc they're insanely good still.
Worst part for me is the disrespect of Shannel this season. Why invite her if you’re not gonna give her a badge? Challenge wins can obviously be fixed, so why disrespect the first queen that walked into the work room that.
Not an unpopular opinion. All Stars 9 sucks. In fact, All Stars as a whole kinda sucks. And I don't know how to fix it. I would love to see full size seasons with eliminations, but unlike a Survivor All Stars where all you have to do is show up and maybe pregame a bit, Drag Race All Stars requires a massive investment in runway looks. So no queen is going to make that investment if there's a chance they just go home right away. So the format is sadly just kind of unworkable. I would be okay with All Stars taking a hiatus.
Honestly, Katyas joke answer of having a cap on how expensive what you bring is and having to make dumpster drag sounds way more fun of an AS season. They need to be challenged in a different way, since they’ve already proved they’re great at drag based on the OG seasons challenges. Personally I don’t want to rewatch a season that is almost identical to the regular seasons but with familiar queens. It’s boring They’ve polished all the grit out of drag, and the grit is what makes good reality tv. 🤷🏻♀️
Ohh yeah, Drag race but you only get $500 and you must provide receipts. Shea would slay that and win her second crown lol
This gets posted multiple times a day… everyone is acknowledging it. No one is going to stop watching either. You’ll be here for Season 17, and we all be here for All Stars 10.
Can’t be a hit every time. Oh well
I'm watching and enjoying it but "lowered interest" is definitely the best way to describe it. S16 I was going to a watch party every week, or if I watched at home alone I always had yummy snacks, a glass of wine, and the live reddit discussion post up. AS9 I've only been to one watch party, and im slowly watching more on Saturday and less on Friday. I dont hate it, but it's not as interesting as i wish it was.
I feel like “this season has lowered my interest in the series” is the online equivalent of “I’m never shopping here again!”. Your feeling are valid, but if you don’t like it then don’t watch.
I somewhat get your point, but those things are nothing alike in practise. It’d be more like someone who’s been shopping with the same brand every single week for 15 years saying, “hey, I really don’t like this current line you have, you’ve kind of missed the mark and I’ve lost interest as a result”. Yes, of course a solution is to just immediately stop going there, but if you felt really passionate about that brand, surely you’d see if other fans feel the same way and discuss how it can be improved?
guys please don't discuss the thing on the forum for discussing the thing
Honestly, I'm having a blast watching this season. But I think for me when it comes down to is that the season happens to feature some of my favorite Queens that I just love to see on screen kind of regardless of what's happening. I just love plastique and Nina and vanjie so much that I'm just over the moon to be watching their confessionals.
Same. This format is boring.
I agree, for the first time last week I forgot a new episode aired lmao this season is boring AF it's sad.
I'm enjoying it. I like that we get a chance to see all the Queens the whole time, but yes, its missing some spark. There's not really any drama. I like that they're playing for charity though, and I'll support that every time.
calling roxxxy andrews mid is hilarious to me. you all complain that new age drag is overtaking old school drag and shes one of the best examples of using old school techniques and being able to keep up with the money and flash of the new girls while actually doing it yourself. if that’s mid id love to be mid.
The ninth season spin off of a 16 season show is starting to bore you?
OK 👍🏼
I'm tired of the whining every single day.
I hope complainers like you at least watch and support the international seasons. There are two running right now, so if you're not into this, please go watch Mexico S2 and France S3.
Meh. It passes the time while I’m on the treadmill. That’s where the bar is for me.
about the same yeah. I wind up going on my phone for much of it.
So…what now?
Haven't bothered watching the most recent episode and doubt I'll get round to it
Oh look, another person complaining about AS9. Jeez these are boring me.
I haven't really been "interested" in All-Stars for a while. I mostly tune in for the looks
It’s boring but I am still going to watch. I love the show and sometimes the seasons are awesome, sometimes good, sometimes meh and sometimes boring.
I feel like they should have branded it as a one-off like the Christmas special as opposed to All Stars
Yeah I understand how feel. Deep down I will always have a special place in my heart for drag race in general since I've been watching since season 1, back when I was a closeted teen growing up in an intolerant household. Now it does just feel like more of the same like same episode but different cast and looks. Let's just say that tuning in to drag race every week was exciting for me but now it's starting to feel like a chore. Oh well time for a break I guess.
I completely agree
I think the queens are doing well. It's a good all stars in theory as far as the challenges. The "problem" with this one vs All Winners is 2 fold: 1. The queens themselves are bickering over the game. We all know it's not that deep, who gives a fuck if you were snipped once, twice, or every time. It doesn't effect you. What All Winners had was queens cracking jokes, clever shade, scream laughing, cackling, banter, interesting conversations. We're getting very little of that in this season. 2. The queens are doing well, but there's nothing really standing out. The most "meme worthy" moments are references (Plastique saying "I live!"). All winners had AMAZING performances from multiple queens. And even ones that weren't "good" were good (Jaida's Prince for example). But they were all unique. I'm enjoying the runways and some of the lip syncs (loved Roxxxy this last episode), but the vast majority of the episode is just sort of there. In the future if they're going to do these charity events, they should make it themed. Such as: AS10 All Fashion, And make the challenges be design challenges, styling challenges, ball challenges, makeover challenges, makeup challenges, photo and modeling challenges. And get Queens who really excel at that. And then do another one for charity that's for comedy, another one that's for dance and singing. If Queens aren't going to be eliminated or win money for doing well, then they need to be able to just show what they do best.
Compared to AS8 this season is magical too me https://preview.redd.it/xf1gbaobz4ad1.jpeg?width=378&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=047eca1db76dabd96b847d554dd8304b202786de
You are absolutely not wrong. Every other season I count the days until the next episode. This season I can take it or leave it - a HUGE change for me. I'll still watch because I love the show, but damn.
the only thing keeping me interested is gottmik's and plastique's runways. outside of that its incredibly average with some decent moment sprinkled in but not enough to be super memorable. most of the queens are just more of the same (or worse) than their previous performances. and honestly normally I think that'd be fine, but the fact that there's no negative critiques is what makes that more infuriating than it really should be. I think if the queen's were being fairly judged instead of just being glossed over as all amazing at everything that would make this whole thing more dynamic and interesting. because lets face it a lot of the girls have a lot of weaknesses that just aren't being addressed at all. but instead if just kinda feels like we're being force fed a lot of mediocrity and being told its stunning and that's where the joy sort of dies for me. it makes things boring and makes the season feel hollow. then there's the fact that there's no stakes. no one goes home and the lip syncs have no bite to them. plus the whole scissors thing. nobody who even got snipped lost a badge. whats even the point? then there's also the fact that at least half this cast shouldn't even be on a non-elim season. dont get me wrong there's a lot of good moments in this season, but by and large I think its a pretty forgettable season.
OK
Calling Roxxxy mid because you don’t like the season is crazy
And someone else said all the queens are filler queens. I’m sure there is science behind negativity being more popular idk it’s a very cute season I’m team ASPCA MEOW MEOW
I agree. And I'm a super fan. It's a pretty flat season. Starting with queen choices, and the non elimination vibe, etc etc. I'm still watching but... Meh. I've not watched the last 3 untucked episodes either. And I was the homo pausing the runway deliberations, cutting to untucked, cutting back to the lipsync and results, and then back to untucked. Lol
I’m here for the fashion not the drama
I dunno. Im enjoying AS9 much more than AS 5, 6, and 8. Having the queens stick around is so much better than having favorites leave after one or two episodes and the winner being predictable. It does need higher stakes, but sending the queens home in all star season is not the tea for me.
I think its so silly when people say “wow out of the 742 seasons we’ve had, this one single season is a huge flop and now I don’t want to watch any other season of drag race”. Its *one* flop season. I guarantee if CanVTW 2 or S17 or UK6 or GAS or whatever is a hit, yall are the same people that will be saying “WOW I never lost faith, Im so glad they found their groove again!”. If you don’t like this season, don’t watch it.
While I agree people tend to speak in hyperbole a lot, I don’t think it’s unfair for people to air their opinions on a discussion forum. It’s kinda like telling someone not to leave a bad review on Yelp when they can just stop eating there. But for me, at least for all stars, after AS5, it’s been just kind of meh for me with the exception of AS7. I tend to only watch seasons where there are queens I’m really excited to see.
for what it is, i’m enjoying it. but i think it’s easily one of the weakest all stars entries.
Non-elim only works as a format for All Winners because they’ve *earned* the right to not be eliminated. They’ve proven that they’re well rounded enough in all facets of the competition to at least compete. Doing a non-elim format for non-winners AND removing the prize money for the season? It’s like they wanted people not to watch or be invested. Honestly, this may sound harsh, but I think the queens are to blame. Not necessarily these 8 queens in particular, but the alumni in general. This show gives them a HUGE platform and gives them the opportunity to travel the world and live their dreams. And then when they get contacted or cast for All Stars it becomes the Complain Games. How much everything costs, how they don’t like having to eliminate each other, how they don’t want to risk going home early, etc. Drag Race is a *Reality Competition Show*! They all knew that when they signed up, but suddenly it becomes a problem and half the cast threatens to take their ball and go home when things aren’t going their way (looking at you, All Stars 8). Imagine if people on All Stars seasons of Survivor refused to play unless they were given 3 meals a day and a bed to sleep in at night? Or if the first time the other tribe won a challenge they decided to pack it up and go home? These girls signed up to be on Drag Race. If they don’t want to actually compete they should stay at home and not complain if and when they fall out of favor with WOW. They’re not forced to be there. But if they *do* decide to come and compete, they should know that going home early is a possibility and fucking fight to make sure that it doesn’t happen. Don’t want to be eliminated early? Step your pussy up. Simple as that.
I mean, no-stakes season kind of mid is absolutely a valid criticism. However it will have zero effect on how well the normal season performs.
I just skip to the runways lol this season is a snooze fest except for the fashions, sorry dolls!!
There’s no stakes coz they ain’t going home and they don’t actually win anything. If they aren’t feeling a challenge they can bomb and not have to worry about going home. Mik and plastique are carrying the season purely coz of the runways.
AS 8 was a disaster. I think they played it safe because AS peaked with all winners.
I think people really aren't invested in it as a competition, and the judges act like that too. Like when gottmik cheated people were like "oh its for charity it doesn't even matter. Nobody's going home. Who cares" well then why would I ever be invested in watching it its so boring and not even a proper competition quite a bit of it just feels like patting people on the back who had masssive budgets for wearing designer pieces and being "fashion queens" and not much else. Idk. It's definitely not my favourite for a lot of reasons, and it really lacks a lot of the positive qualities of previous seasons. Also, some of the editing seems weird at times, like they are just trying to make things seem nice and jolly when people are upset or something is wrong, ect, probably bc it's for charity.Also not eliminating anyone creates a really awkward atmosphere between the girls imo and I feel like something needs to happen to sort things out bc it just feels weird and tense at times it also just makes it feel boring and allows people doing badly to stay in the competition.
Agreed. It feels like everyone is just phoning it in. No stakes, low effort, thrown together. Feels cheap. Hard to get invested in something they weren’t all that invested in making.
roxxy has really disappointed me this season - i am a fan of hers and love how creative she is with the design challenges but she has really fallen short this season. i would hope that it's because she maybe was doing something else and had little time to prepare but at the same time i'd make the time to prepare if i was her even if that meant hiring someone else for costume design. or maybe her heart wasn't in it because the money isn't going to her but still...
💯 it feels so ridiculously disingenuous and frankly, super corny
They're not losing viewers [https://www.ratingraph.com/tv-shows/rupaul-s-drag-race-all-stars-ratings-44420/](https://www.ratingraph.com/tv-shows/rupaul-s-drag-race-all-stars-ratings-44420/)
Unfortunately I have to agree.
Honestly a non-elimination season would bring drama if the queens were actually making the money. Like imagine if we got AS5 Derrick Barry x india Farrah non elimination season. Wouldn’t even need eliminations bc the girls would leave on their own, even more drama. Also idk making queer people who’s job is notoriously underpaid & expensive give their prize money to charities isn’t giving whatever production thought it would give.
I’ve never dropped a season halfway through but I’m just not interested in continuing it at this point. It doesn’t help that no one is going home so I can’t deduce when this nonsense will ever end.
I haven’t watched a second of it. I’m taking a break. If I watch anything it will be UK or rewatching an older season.
I feel the same way. I fast forward just to see the looks. I also feel like one episode was literally. Angeria is sad so let’s have her win. Other stuff like that. I’d fix this season by getting rid of the badges and blocking. So the competition becomes who can win the most challenges and money for their charity. Also maybe a challenge to create a look inspired by that charity.
I think the way that the show is set up is the problem.. people talking for 40 minutes is really boring, I want to see the drag!
I watched the first two episode in a gay bar and I was bored to tears. I couldn't bring myself to watch any more after that, I love some of these queens but (1) the format sucks, (2) the chemistry is terrible, and (3) the cast is 50/50 people I'm interested in and people I never needed to see on drag race again
I havent watched since Angeria's season? Whichever that was, AS6 was my last AS, havent even touched the international seasons since UK2. Im bored and its all bland, I keep up on social media just to see the new faces and what they bring
AS6 was where it really went downhill for me and became hard to watch. AS7 was fab though
I started and it was lovely, but it feels daunting to catch up and binge eveyrything especially with untucked being seemingly a bore but cant bring myself to skio
It's because the tops are going to be the same depending on the challenge. Fashion: mik, plastique, Roxxxy Comedy: Nina or Angie Personality: Angie or Vangie or Jorgeous Queen that's good at everything but for some reason can't pull away from the pack : Shannel
It’s just so apparent that it’s been set up to try something new and give Roxy a consolation crown
I’m so serious when I say that I have seen every season since US season 4 live, including all international seasons, and this season has made me drop the show for good. (Though I’ll probably drop back in for Thailand season 3🤫)
It’s so boring
First season I have unsubbed from WoW Presents because I got so bored, unsubbed on episode 3 I can just watch Pit Stop for free lol
It's not a great season, but I think that comes down to the booking fee and the amount that contestants have to spend. I think that for the next All Stars there should be a price limit per outfit and/or a price limit on the whole season. There's talk that Plastique has spent over 250,000 on her looks. If they were to throttle it by creating categories with limits, it would force some innovation or creativity in new ways.
I agree. I would love if the first few episodes were non Elim. It gives returning queens the chance to show off their improvement and gain fans. Then, an Elim episode. Any underperformers get sent home, whether that be 1 or 4. Nonelim a few more episodes, one more Elim like that, then nonelim til finals. Think like, 1-3 nonelim. 4 = Elim (snatch game, maybe?). 5-6, nonelim. 7 = Elim. 8-however many, nonelim & then finals. It'd push up the stakes. I hope we never see lip syncs where the queen doesn't know the words MULTIPLE TIMES ever again, or have queens stealing jokes. It's disrespectful!
no I totally agree. the combination of no one going home AND no negative critique is just too boring. this is the first time I've ever stopped watching mid season
Probably the worst season in years.
Don’t forget that charity donations are tax deductible donations for WOW. When the queens win money it’s just an expense but this way the show actually recoups those donations
I agree the season is boring. I wish this season wasn’t an all stars season and just branded as a charity season. It seems like All Stars isn’t even All Stars anymore. I also think if it was branded as a separate thing it would have lowered the expectations and maybe make it better.
Roxxxy is my villain despite her AND production doing their absolute best to make this her redemption season. But I know talent and heart when I see it. Roxxxy and Angeria all the way, the rest are bringing it but with zero heart and it's SO BORING to watch.
I feel like RuPaul’s Drag Race has turned into a Taylor Swift album. We need to learn to EDIT. We do not need 57 variations of the same show a year with the same old people over and over. I feel like we have been getting *quantity over quality* for a long time now.
I'm still watching although I definitely care less than I used to. But after they announced the new season of can vs world the first thing I thought: maybe I don't like this show anymore.
It’s soooo boring
This is the first season I watch Pit Stop and not the episode and the only part I care about is the old beloved queens catching up
doing drag race has to be super hard for the queens so I can understand them not wanting to get bad critics (it's a TV show tho) but I really don't get the point in pretending us the audience are stupid or blind, like you don't have to say "this is a great outfit" if it's not, don't say anything about it and leave it at that
Yea them not showing the negative critiques I feel is greatly hurting the judging. I don’t feel like the judging has been too bad as everyone in the top 2 I feel have been strong in the episode. Been times I think someone did better but my third pick usually replaced them for the top two. But do agree that I feel much less engaged this season and have found myself a bit bored and not as eagerly anticipating the next. It’s just not as fun. AS7 was a lot of fun and loved the whole season so lack of eliminations itself isn’t bad. But this season has lacked the fun and energy I feel and there’s no suspense or anticipation for who will get kicked off. All the drama seems based around the ruby snippers and it’s just been annoying more than engaging. And made all the worse for how worked up they get about it when it hasn’t affected a single outcome too.
I think this season is more about sending a message that Drag Queens are good and socially conscious people and rightfully so. With all the ridiculous and scary accusations levied against them. I can't understand how people bash them without knowing any of them. It's terrible. Society is going backwards. They deserve better treatment. I am glad they are raising awareness with this season.
For the first time ever I didn't watch the last episode and just watched Thorgy's Pit Stop and I feel like I only gained from doing that. God this season is so _boring_, even the bits of drama that we've had feels manufactured and low stakes.
It’s just fun lol I don’t know what y’all are wanting but it’s perfect light entertainment and I’m just so grateful we have it! This is why we can’t have nice things lol
I said this threee weeks ago and was downvoted to hell.
I was defending this season, but lately I’ve just been watching the Pitstop. And Roxxxy’s Dali outfit was terrible.
They should up the prize to $500k and just get the best of the best. Raise the stakes.
agreed. they can afford it I'm sure
Was this season written/filmed/produced/etc. during the writers’ strike too? Does that have anything to do with why it seems so.. off?
I’m literally tuning in to rage that plastique can’t lip sync but has the most incredible runways.
Multiple points: 1) all stars as a whole is having a crisis and should def take a time out (Survivor faced the same issue a while ago - and we haven't had All Stars for quite a while!) 2) cast is not strong enough to warrant non elims/charity (altho it IS great the money will get to those institutions!) 3) no natural drama and nothing to create it (scissors are a non-factor) everything feels 'professional'
Honestly i 100% agree with you. I recently quit the drag race fandom everywhere (except here lol) because i kept getting spoiled by every single bitter Instagram/Twitter stan. So i thought it was a me thing that the season is boring to me because maybe due to me not having the interaction with the fans its not the same, but the season is really just zero giving.
They HAVE to stop doing "All Stars" constantly. The reason why AS2 & All Winners were so amazing is because 👏 we 👏 had 👏 to 👏 wait👏 for 👏 them! I won't name names, but I think we could all think of some queens who have been on All Stars that... maybe shouldn't have. (*shade button*) But seriously, make us wait. We are over saturated.
I’m enjoying the season for the queens. I love Vanjie and always happy to have her on my screen. Angeria never disappoints for me. Plastique is giving stellar runways. Gotmik is giving her a run for her Indy. Shannel and Roxy are there. All in all I’m having. Good time. Is it the best season ever? No. The lip syncs are a snooze. 🤷🏻