Rupaul’s Drag Race Season 18 Release Date
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 18 officially launches on 2 January 2026, with a 90‑minute premiere episode titled “Reclaim! Renew! Rejoice!” airing on MTV. The network has locked in a Friday night slot at 8 p.m. ET, followed by Untucked, so it’s clearly treating this as appointment TV rather than just another reality show quietly dropped in the schedule. For long-time viewers, it continues that now-familiar winter rhythm: new queens, new drama, and a reason to actually know what day of the week it is.
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Rupaul’s Drag Race Season 18 Cast
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 18 features 14 new queens competing for the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar and a cash prize reportedly set at 200,000 dollars. The cast has a strong Florida presence, some serious pageant résumés, and a few queens with links to past Drag Race favourites, which already has fans picking early favourites in comment sections.
All 14 season 18 contestants are:
Athena Dion (Miami, Florida)
Athena Dion is a Miami‑based queen, named after the Greek goddess, known as a powerful hostess and drag mother with a dynasty stretching from Miami to Mykonos. She is the drag mother of Morphine Love Dion and Plane Jane from earlier seasons, and this time enters the competition alongside her drag daughter Juicy Love Dion, marking the show’s first on‑screen mother/daughter duo.
Briar Blush (Boston, Massachusetts)
Briar Blush comes from Boston and brings a polished, story‑driven aesthetic that leans into soft, fantasy‑inspired drag with a sharp competitive edge. Early promo material frames Briar as one of the season’s “pretty but prepared” queens—someone who looks sweet but is clearly here to win, not just collect photo ops.
Ciara Myst (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Ciara Myst hails from Indianapolis, Indiana, representing Midwestern drag with a mix of glamour and club‑kid energy. Her profiles highlight a background in performance and choreography, suggesting she could be dangerous in dance and lip‑sync challenges where stage presence really decides everything.
Darlene Mitchell (Los Angeles, California)
Darlene Mitchell is a Los Angeles queen described as a “country camp” performer who blends soap‑opera style glamour with big hair and bigger personality. That mix of LA polish and yee‑haw camp usually plays well in acting and improv challenges, where leaning into the ridiculous is more important than being perfectly pretty.
DD Fuego (New York City, New York)
DD Fuego comes from New York City and lives up to the “Fuego” name with high‑energy performances and a Latin‑influenced, nightlife‑shaped drag style. Coming from such a competitive scene, DD is framed as a queen who knows how to work a packed club and translate that same fire to the main stage.
Discord Addams (St. Petersburg, Florida)
Discord Addams represents St. Petersburg, Florida, leaning into spooky, alternative drag with a campy, internet‑age twist. The name alone hints at meme‑ready humor and dark comedy, which could make Discord a standout in branding and comedy challenges if the jokes land.
Jane Don’t (Seattle, Washington)
Jane Don’t is a comedy‑driven queen from Seattle who takes inspiration from classic stand‑up and sharp‑tongued icons, pairing jokes with exaggerated silhouettes and strong shoulders. She also has drag ties to queens like Bosco and Irene the Alien, which means expectations are already high for wit, weirdness, and occasionally chaotic fashion choices.
Juicy Love Dion (Miami, Florida)
Juicy Love Dion, from Miami, is the drag daughter and “drag granddaughter” within the Dion family line, with experience competing on So You Think You Can Dance and other performance platforms. Sharing the season with her drag mother Athena Dion gives the show an instant emotional storyline, and her dance background makes her one of the early favorites for big choreo moments.
Kenya Pleaser (Columbia, South Carolina)
Kenya Pleaser comes from Columbia, South Carolina, bringing Southern charm, pageant smarts, and a flirty, high‑energy stage style. Her branding leans into crowd‑pleasing humor and glam, somewhere between classic beauty and playful “down‑home” queen, which usually lands well with both judges and audiences.
Mandy Mango (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Mandy Mango is based in Philadelphia and brings a bright, fruity, slightly chaotic vibe—colorful wigs, bold prints, and plenty of personality. Promo write‑ups describe her as a fun, approachable queen who doesn’t mind looking a little silly for a laugh, which can be a secret weapon in Drag Race’s sillier mini‑challenges.
Mia Starr (Wilton Manors, Florida)
Mia Starr, from Wilton Manors, Florida, has one of the most stacked performance résumés in the cast, having danced on major tours for artists like Rihanna and Britney Spears. She has also appeared in other TV competitions, which means she comes in already knowing how cameras, confessionals, and reality‑show pressure work—a big advantage when the lights go up.
Myki Meeks (Orlando, Florida)
Myki Meeks hails from Orlando and represents the theme‑park city’s high‑impact entertainment culture with polished looks and energetic performance chops. Orlando queens often blend cosplay, theater, and nightclub drag, so expectations are for Myki to deliver strong character work and visually tight runway concepts.
Nini Coco (Denver, Colorado)
Nini Coco is a Denver‑based queen known for high‑energy performances, big fashion moments, and a personal story that includes leaving an engineering career to pursue drag full‑time. That kind of career pivot usually resonates with viewers; it adds real‑life stakes to every challenge and makes each win or critique feel more personal.
Vita VonTesse Starr (Montgomery, Alabama)
Vita VonTesse Starr, sometimes nicknamed “Queen V,” comes from Montgomery, Alabama, and is a seasoned pageant competitor with multiple titles. Her style leans into high drag—elegant gowns, precise makeup, and sewn‑to‑perfection looks—which should make her a major threat in design challenges and any runway where polish is non‑negotiable.
Several queens already have notable credits: Mia Starr has performed on major pop tours, Juicy Love Dion previously showed up on So You Think You Can Dance, and Athena Dion has ties to fan‑favourite Plane Jane and Morphine Love Dion, adding extra lore for Drag Race deep-divers. Early interviews suggest this is a very “out for blood” cast—ambitious, polished, but still weird enough to keep things fun rather than over-produced.
About RuPaul’s Drag Race
RuPaul’s Drag Race is a reality competition series where drag queens battle through challenges that test performance, fashion, comedy, and storytelling, all under RuPaul’s watchful eye. Across its many seasons and spin‑offs, the show has grown from a niche cable experiment to a global franchise, helping drag artists cross into mainstream music, television, and fashion while still centering queer culture and camp.
Season 18 continues the MTV era of the show, with longer episodes, a companion Untucked aftershow, and a production style that leans into big emotional moments alongside meme‑ready chaos. For fans, the appeal is familiar: new catchphrases, unexpected lip-sync assassins, and at least one queen who seems chaotic in confessionals but strangely comforting to root for every single week.
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Disclaimer
Release date, cast details, and episode information for RuPaul’s Drag Race season 18 are based on currently available announcements and may change if networks update their schedule. Viewers should confirm timings and availability on MTV, WOW Presents Plus, or official platforms in their region before relying on this information.
