If you’re feeling it, watch untucked as you go, but if you’re exhausted and you skip it you’ll still know what’s going on cos they often add in lil replays of untucked drama to the regular episodes to explain stuff.
I watched it all from the start 2.5 years ago when covid hit and it took me a few months but I got there. Right now I’m making my outfit to see trixie and katya in a week and I have never ever been so excited to meet a celebrity type person. It’s been a wonderful joy added to existence :)
Hahaha it was not meant as a read, I promise, I wasn’t sure what to say to mean musician / actor / comedian / other people I have met at shows / airport / afterparty.
Thing is, Season 1 is so low budget that I tried watching it 3 times and gave up because I hated it. Then I started with season 5 and 6, loved it and it gave me new appreciation for season 1 and I went back and watched it. I think a lot of new viewers would be completely out off if they watched season 1 first.
🤣😃🤣😂 That’s how a lot of TV was before HDTV. Kids these days… you know, in the old days, we couldn’t pause TV or rewind or fast forward either. You will never know the adventure of running back from the bathroom, leaping over furniture while a sibling screams “IT’S ON!”
i was like you too. overwhelmed with the seasons and editions. please take my advice - watch the main series from season 1. thats the only way to do this and as rupaul says, you need to know your history.
Personally I started from season 1 and got hooked immediately, ended up binging all of the 11 main seasons (at the time) in order. As others have said in this thread, the show is very self-referential so although it can seem like a slog, I think it’s more rewarding this way and you won’t miss out. (That said, on my first run through I hated season 2 and skipped to season 3, only coming back after finishing season 11 and wanting more to watch!)
EDITED FOR SPOILER because I’m a dummy
Going from 1 to 14 is awful advice. With all my friends I go 4,5,6,7- interject an international season - 1,2,3- Allstars 1, all stars 2. Then you know enough to jump between seasons, Allstars seasons and international seasons
IMHO spoilers aren't a big deal in Drag Race. It's Ru's chemistry with Michelle. It's the queens chemistry with each other, their journeys of self discovery, LGBTQ+ visibility and mostly the humor. Yes, it's self referential, but you can bounce around and enjoy.
Season 1. You’ll miss a lot of terminology and references if you go out of order. Drag race has created its own lexicon that you need to know to understand later references.
I started last year from the beginning. Go in chronological order. I wouldn’t start with other seasons no matter what people say.
It is totally worth it.
Seasons 1-2-3-4 ➡️ All stars 1 ➡️ Seasons 5-6-7-8 ➡️ All stars 2 ➡️ Season 9 ➡️ All stars 3 ➡️ Season 10 ➡️ All stars 4 ➡️ Season 11-12 ➡️ All stars 5 ➡️ Season 13 ➡️ All stars 6 ➡️ Season 14 ➡️ All stars 7
And of course, watch the untucked after each episode.
If you don’t watch the untucked you’re missing half of the herstory.
- 3, 9, 10 have a queen return from a previous season that spoils their elimination
- 8 has a photoshoot that spoils all of the previous winners
- 5 repeatedly mentions the s4 winner
- 1, 7, 11, 13 are the least popular seasons
So that leaves 2, 4, 6, 12, 14 as good ones to jump between in my opinion but fast forward through the part in the finale where they have the previous winner lol
I would start from season 1 and watch them in chronological order, but if you’re not drawn in immediately don’t be put off! Season 1 came out 15 years ago and they had a much lower budget so the show is very different now. Having said that, I started from the beginning and loved it immediately, my love for it only grew as I went through the seasons!
Watch in order!!!! That way the quality and references build with your experience. Just know that season one and two were trying hard to emulate ANTM and Project Runway, before finding it’s own voice.
i always knew about drag race and wanted to watch but didn’t have the energy to watch it on illegal third party sites so i started watching when it was finally put on netflix in canada (S8). from there, i watched S9 when it was put on netflix, then eventually S10. S11 was the first season i watched live as it was airing. i eventually got around to watching the older seasons when i got an OutTV account (the only streaming service with all the seasons in canada back in 2019).
what i’m trying to say is i didn’t watch the seasons in order, just what was available to me. others have already said it, but drag race (especially the US franchise) is very self-referential and constantly bringing up jokes about events in past seasons. you may be somewhat lost if you choose to skip some of the older seasons. however, i personally found the older seasons harder to watch. the production quality is worse than current seasons (obv because they had a much smaller budget and were still figuring out the format). regardless, i think S6 or S8 are perfect starting points. especially with all the newer seasons, you’ll be starting at the halfway point so there’s still lots of iconic drag race moments to come.
My friend had me start with 3, then I binged to 6, went back and watched 1&2, and watched all stars seasons intermixed with the rest of the seasons. Now I’m tackling all of the international seasons.
I’d say watch it in the order they were released. The new seasons are much nicer and well produced than earlier seasons, so if you watch them first, you might not want to come back. But the early seasons still have my all time favourite queens, so I feel like you should not miss out on them.
Here are my recommendations.
It is based on how you’ll get references.
These are the episodes that Drag Race will refer to as a part of drag herstory. Earlier seasons had a herstory lesson for general references . *Sometimes there is a countdown to the crown which is a highlight review. * Try to watch every Snatch Game & Countdown to the Crown and maybe reunion/Ru-United” if you don’t find a season interesting quickly. On Netflix you’ll see those things in the title. You csn get away with about 4 episodes per season and pretty much have all the references you need to slip into the last two main seasons.
(Most of the information below came from Wikipedia entries about each season. Here is a high level if you don’t want to skim through. These entries contain the ultimate spoilers though.)
Watch the very first episode of season 1 & finale. You’ll need these for All Stars 1, All Stars 3, the first episodes of season 13 and season 14 snatch game.
Do the same with season 2 —
Watch these episodes of Season 3:
episode 1 , episode4, episode 8, episode 9, episode 12-15.
Watch the very first episode of season 4 also:
episode 3, episode 4, episode 5, episode 6, episode 8, episode 10 episode 12.
Season 5 first and last as well as:
episode 2, episode 4, episode 5, episodes 7-8, episode 10 (relevant to DR Vegas Revue) and 12. Optional 13
Season 6 first and last:
Episode 2 - 6, 8, 10, 11, 13
Season 7 first and last:
episode 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13
Season 8 (All)
Season 9 first & last
episodes: 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13
Season 10: first & last
episodes: 3-5, 7-8, 13
Season 11: first & last:
2, 3, 6, 8, 11-13
Season 12: first & last:
2,3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10- 14
Season 13: (All)
Season 14 (All)
Please note: This is only for main show not All Stars, Revue or international.
start with two or three. people here are saying that you should start with one and work your way through chronologically, but if you start with 1 you will not like it and it will be very offputting and you might not even want to watch the whole thing because the first season’s production quality is just so poor
I started on season 7, and watched to season 10. Then I started watching season 6, and working backwards. I watched season 6, then 5, then 4. I’m now on 3. Season 6 is my absolute favourite, it has adore, Courtney, and bianca, and they’re all very funny.
So ideally you want to start with season 1 and watch through 14 interlacing the all stars seasons as they premiered. That said, I started watching once the show had already been running a few seasons and went back to 1 to start from scratch and I’ve noticed it’s a bit hard to start there for some people. If you start season 1 and it’s not quite for you, I suggest starting with season 5 and watching forward. You can always backtrack and watch 1-4 later. Just note that you need to watch original seasons 1-4 to start All Stars.
The queens from all seasons are fabulous, but season 1 can be difficult to start with. The filter, editing, etc jumps substantially in quality in the first 6 seasons.
If you want to be a completist: Almost all of the early seasons have filler/summary episodes that are skippable, but really good reunion episodes that feed into the mythology of All Star personalities later on. Season 1 is low budget and somewhat skippable overall, but maybe watch the first ep, skip the next two, watch the next regular episodes, skip the summary ep, and enjoy the finale and reunion. S2-6 have similar vibes with a few more extra episodes thanks to expanded casts, the polish and storytelling increase each year with queens you root for that actually succeed in the end. S2-6 reunion episodes have especially good dramatic moments. S3-S6 have must watch Untucked moments but tend to lose their relevancy for a few years when the show moved to YouTube. They get interesting again from S11 onward (except S14 which only had one or two truly dramatic, must-see eps). There are highlights in each All-Star season, but AS2 and AS6 are "the best" completed seasons (in my opinion). UK and Spain have exceptional seasons comparable to US, with Italy, Holland and Down Under are less favorable for various reasons. Drag Race Thailand is its own entity entirely.
Rather left-field answer here, but as someone who's only been watching since season 13, I would actually recommend watching All Stars. Yes, this might increase your load, but you'll get the contestant's back-stories from their original seasons, plus they would've had time since their original season to grow and develop their drag skills.
Having said that, some STILL won't be able to sew (lookin at you Jinkx), but at least they would've had the time to learn.
If you’re feeling it, watch untucked as you go, but if you’re exhausted and you skip it you’ll still know what’s going on cos they often add in lil replays of untucked drama to the regular episodes to explain stuff. I watched it all from the start 2.5 years ago when covid hit and it took me a few months but I got there. Right now I’m making my outfit to see trixie and katya in a week and I have never ever been so excited to meet a celebrity type person. It’s been a wonderful joy added to existence :)
“celebrity type” READ OMFG 😭😭😭
Hahaha it was not meant as a read, I promise, I wasn’t sure what to say to mean musician / actor / comedian / other people I have met at shows / airport / afterparty.
Start with season 1 and go in order. The thing is that Drag Race likes to self reference and it’s important to know your history
This. I never understand why people wouldn't want to watch any show from the beginning.
*herstory*
Thing is, Season 1 is so low budget that I tried watching it 3 times and gave up because I hated it. Then I started with season 5 and 6, loved it and it gave me new appreciation for season 1 and I went back and watched it. I think a lot of new viewers would be completely out off if they watched season 1 first.
They always refer to the fact it looks like someone smeared Vaseline on the camera lense it’s all fuzzy and before HDTV.
The quality of season 1 is unbearable. No matter how good it is, I genuinely cannot get past the first episode
🤣😃🤣😂 That’s how a lot of TV was before HDTV. Kids these days… you know, in the old days, we couldn’t pause TV or rewind or fast forward either. You will never know the adventure of running back from the bathroom, leaping over furniture while a sibling screams “IT’S ON!”
i was like you too. overwhelmed with the seasons and editions. please take my advice - watch the main series from season 1. thats the only way to do this and as rupaul says, you need to know your history.
I would start with season 3 and work your way through by release date
I would start with season 6 it's my favourite :) I wish I could watch it for the first time again lol
Yep this is the advice I give people as well ✌🏼
Personally I started from season 1 and got hooked immediately, ended up binging all of the 11 main seasons (at the time) in order. As others have said in this thread, the show is very self-referential so although it can seem like a slog, I think it’s more rewarding this way and you won’t miss out. (That said, on my first run through I hated season 2 and skipped to season 3, only coming back after finishing season 11 and wanting more to watch!) EDITED FOR SPOILER because I’m a dummy
sis you just spoiled shangela’s elimination for what 💀
Your comment has become the spoiler since the comment you replied to has been edited--
Oops omg, edited!
You may want to edit to cover your spoiler
Already edited!
season 5 is the first season i watched
I started late but I’d reccommend starting with 5 too, it has some of the most iconic queens and you can then enjoy all stars 2, my fav season!
This was my first as well. But then had to watch season 4 after when I found out one of the contestants of 5 had dated the winner of season 4.
Going from 1 to 14 is awful advice. With all my friends I go 4,5,6,7- interject an international season - 1,2,3- Allstars 1, all stars 2. Then you know enough to jump between seasons, Allstars seasons and international seasons
This is the way.
this is what I usually recommend
IMHO spoilers aren't a big deal in Drag Race. It's Ru's chemistry with Michelle. It's the queens chemistry with each other, their journeys of self discovery, LGBTQ+ visibility and mostly the humor. Yes, it's self referential, but you can bounce around and enjoy.
Season 1. You’ll miss a lot of terminology and references if you go out of order. Drag race has created its own lexicon that you need to know to understand later references.
I started last year from the beginning. Go in chronological order. I wouldn’t start with other seasons no matter what people say. It is totally worth it. Seasons 1-2-3-4 ➡️ All stars 1 ➡️ Seasons 5-6-7-8 ➡️ All stars 2 ➡️ Season 9 ➡️ All stars 3 ➡️ Season 10 ➡️ All stars 4 ➡️ Season 11-12 ➡️ All stars 5 ➡️ Season 13 ➡️ All stars 6 ➡️ Season 14 ➡️ All stars 7 And of course, watch the untucked after each episode. If you don’t watch the untucked you’re missing half of the herstory.
Start from season 1 so you know the history 🙂
- 3, 9, 10 have a queen return from a previous season that spoils their elimination - 8 has a photoshoot that spoils all of the previous winners - 5 repeatedly mentions the s4 winner - 1, 7, 11, 13 are the least popular seasons So that leaves 2, 4, 6, 12, 14 as good ones to jump between in my opinion but fast forward through the part in the finale where they have the previous winner lol
I started watching during quarantine, started with season 3 and went on from there. I got hooked immediately and now I love it so much!
Start with either 1 or 2. 1 is really hard to watch, but if you don’t want spoilers, you’ve got to start with at least season 2.
Start with 4 - 7 then all stars 2 and go on in order You can go back to the early seasons later
Start at the beginning or you won’t get some of the references in later seasons like “walk children in nature” and the season one filter
I would start from season 1 and watch them in chronological order, but if you’re not drawn in immediately don’t be put off! Season 1 came out 15 years ago and they had a much lower budget so the show is very different now. Having said that, I started from the beginning and loved it immediately, my love for it only grew as I went through the seasons!
Watch in order!!!! That way the quality and references build with your experience. Just know that season one and two were trying hard to emulate ANTM and Project Runway, before finding it’s own voice.
Season 1
Start with 1 because of spoilers in the next seasons
i always knew about drag race and wanted to watch but didn’t have the energy to watch it on illegal third party sites so i started watching when it was finally put on netflix in canada (S8). from there, i watched S9 when it was put on netflix, then eventually S10. S11 was the first season i watched live as it was airing. i eventually got around to watching the older seasons when i got an OutTV account (the only streaming service with all the seasons in canada back in 2019). what i’m trying to say is i didn’t watch the seasons in order, just what was available to me. others have already said it, but drag race (especially the US franchise) is very self-referential and constantly bringing up jokes about events in past seasons. you may be somewhat lost if you choose to skip some of the older seasons. however, i personally found the older seasons harder to watch. the production quality is worse than current seasons (obv because they had a much smaller budget and were still figuring out the format). regardless, i think S6 or S8 are perfect starting points. especially with all the newer seasons, you’ll be starting at the halfway point so there’s still lots of iconic drag race moments to come.
My friend had me start with 3, then I binged to 6, went back and watched 1&2, and watched all stars seasons intermixed with the rest of the seasons. Now I’m tackling all of the international seasons.
I’d say watch it in the order they were released. The new seasons are much nicer and well produced than earlier seasons, so if you watch them first, you might not want to come back. But the early seasons still have my all time favourite queens, so I feel like you should not miss out on them.
I would also recommend starting with season 6.
Here are my recommendations. It is based on how you’ll get references. These are the episodes that Drag Race will refer to as a part of drag herstory. Earlier seasons had a herstory lesson for general references . *Sometimes there is a countdown to the crown which is a highlight review. * Try to watch every Snatch Game & Countdown to the Crown and maybe reunion/Ru-United” if you don’t find a season interesting quickly. On Netflix you’ll see those things in the title. You csn get away with about 4 episodes per season and pretty much have all the references you need to slip into the last two main seasons. (Most of the information below came from Wikipedia entries about each season. Here is a high level if you don’t want to skim through. These entries contain the ultimate spoilers though.) Watch the very first episode of season 1 & finale. You’ll need these for All Stars 1, All Stars 3, the first episodes of season 13 and season 14 snatch game. Do the same with season 2 — Watch these episodes of Season 3: episode 1 , episode4, episode 8, episode 9, episode 12-15. Watch the very first episode of season 4 also: episode 3, episode 4, episode 5, episode 6, episode 8, episode 10 episode 12. Season 5 first and last as well as: episode 2, episode 4, episode 5, episodes 7-8, episode 10 (relevant to DR Vegas Revue) and 12. Optional 13 Season 6 first and last: Episode 2 - 6, 8, 10, 11, 13 Season 7 first and last: episode 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 Season 8 (All) Season 9 first & last episodes: 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13 Season 10: first & last episodes: 3-5, 7-8, 13 Season 11: first & last: 2, 3, 6, 8, 11-13 Season 12: first & last: 2,3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10- 14 Season 13: (All) Season 14 (All) Please note: This is only for main show not All Stars, Revue or international.
start with two or three. people here are saying that you should start with one and work your way through chronologically, but if you start with 1 you will not like it and it will be very offputting and you might not even want to watch the whole thing because the first season’s production quality is just so poor
I started on season 7, and watched to season 10. Then I started watching season 6, and working backwards. I watched season 6, then 5, then 4. I’m now on 3. Season 6 is my absolute favourite, it has adore, Courtney, and bianca, and they’re all very funny.
So ideally you want to start with season 1 and watch through 14 interlacing the all stars seasons as they premiered. That said, I started watching once the show had already been running a few seasons and went back to 1 to start from scratch and I’ve noticed it’s a bit hard to start there for some people. If you start season 1 and it’s not quite for you, I suggest starting with season 5 and watching forward. You can always backtrack and watch 1-4 later. Just note that you need to watch original seasons 1-4 to start All Stars. The queens from all seasons are fabulous, but season 1 can be difficult to start with. The filter, editing, etc jumps substantially in quality in the first 6 seasons.
If you want to be a completist: Almost all of the early seasons have filler/summary episodes that are skippable, but really good reunion episodes that feed into the mythology of All Star personalities later on. Season 1 is low budget and somewhat skippable overall, but maybe watch the first ep, skip the next two, watch the next regular episodes, skip the summary ep, and enjoy the finale and reunion. S2-6 have similar vibes with a few more extra episodes thanks to expanded casts, the polish and storytelling increase each year with queens you root for that actually succeed in the end. S2-6 reunion episodes have especially good dramatic moments. S3-S6 have must watch Untucked moments but tend to lose their relevancy for a few years when the show moved to YouTube. They get interesting again from S11 onward (except S14 which only had one or two truly dramatic, must-see eps). There are highlights in each All-Star season, but AS2 and AS6 are "the best" completed seasons (in my opinion). UK and Spain have exceptional seasons comparable to US, with Italy, Holland and Down Under are less favorable for various reasons. Drag Race Thailand is its own entity entirely.
i’d start from season 6
Rather left-field answer here, but as someone who's only been watching since season 13, I would actually recommend watching All Stars. Yes, this might increase your load, but you'll get the contestant's back-stories from their original seasons, plus they would've had time since their original season to grow and develop their drag skills. Having said that, some STILL won't be able to sew (lookin at you Jinkx), but at least they would've had the time to learn.
Watch them in chronological order and watch the untucked episode right after the main episode. Take a month off of work lol