“My girls are ready for the sun,” RuPaul’s ominous voiceover announces in the official cast announcement for RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars Season 6. Sure, many of these girls haven’t been booked in some time, but even more have been left in the sun maybe a bit too long—I’m looking at you, Eureka O’Hara.
The famous villain of Seasons 9 and 10 is back, along with, and I wish I were joking: Sonique, Pandora Boxx, Yara Sofia, Jiggly Caliente, Serena ChaCha, Trinity K. Bonet, Ginger Minj, A’Keria C. Davenport, Ra’Jah O’Hara, Scarlet Envy, Silky Nutmeg Ganache, and fucking JAN. I probably should excuse Trinity, Sonique, Yara, Jiggly, and A’Keria from my now minutes-long eye roll, but what a mixed bag of highs and lows and ups and downs.
The most egregious contestants on this list are Eureka and Ginger, who have now been given a collective six shots at the crown. In fact, Ginger already competed in All-Stars 2, famously coming in a dismal 8th place. Eureka, meanwhile, left after an injury in Season 9 and was runner up the following season, which crowned Aquaria. She also co-stars, with A Star Is Born actor Shangela and Season 8 winner Bob the Drag Queen, in a show on HBO; like Ginger, she has a very successful tour schedule. Why are they here, again?As for the rest, I’m excited at least that the competition has another trans woman in an All-Stars lineup: a personal favorite, Sonique. During the Season 2 reunion episode, she came out as trans, revealing to her competitors and producers that since leaving the show, she’d gone on testosterone blockers and estrogen. “I’ve never been happier,” she told her peers. Good luck to her this time around!
Jiggly also came out as trans after her season. Again, totally iconic!
As for Pandora, she was a fan favorite in Season 2, and even competed in the first season of All-Stars. It wouldn’t be the first time a prior competitor had returned to the competition after competing in All-Stars—Latrice Royale was featured in All-Stars Seasons 1 and 4. Yara Sofia also competed in the first All-Stars, as did the aformentioned Ginger.I am somewhat curious, however, how Jiggly Caliente will fare this time around. Same with Silky, Ra’Jah, and one of my all-time favorite competitors, Trinity K. Bonet. The latter still holds a spot on my top five best lip-syncs in Drag Race history. Talk about hair-ography herstory!
Despite Eureka’s involvement in this mess, I will still watch it anyway, because I’m a glutton for torturous entertainment, especially the stuff they cook up over at RuPaul’s School for Troubled Squirrelfriends. It’s hard to look away from a trainwreck!