Last summer, Universal Pictures, Jon M. Chu, and the “Wicked” team had high hopes for their holiday musical. The adaptation of the Broadway smash ended up becoming a box office and cultural phenomenon beyond their wildest expectations. At the time, however, no one probably gave a second thought to a publicity note that stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were going to appear together on a reality show episode that wouldn’t come out until seven months after the first movie’s release. Now, the two Oscar nominees are appearing together for the first time since performing at the Academy Awards (at least for public consumption) as returning guest judges on “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” season 10. Effectively, the “Wicked For Good” promotional campaign begins now.
READ MORE: Exclusive: Lydia B. Kollins on her “Automatic Yes” To “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars”
(Although, remember, this shot last summer. Don’t expect any “holding space” references this time around.)
Erivo and Grande aren’t the only 2025 Oscar nominees sitting alongside RuPaul on the judges table this season. Colman Domingo, who was just coming off his first nom, will be on hand as will music sensation Chappell Roan, a major drag fan and huge coup for the show (she was in the middle of a major festival tour at the time). Other judges include the iconic “Buffy” herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ice Spice, Kate Beckinsale, Susanne Bartsch, Adam Shankman, Maya Lopez, and “Reservation Dogs” star Devery Jacobs.
You can watch a few of the guest judges crash the werk room in a very fun new trailer for the season embedded in this post.
This season sees “Drag Race All Stars” switch up its format as 18 queens, the largest cast ever, battle it out in the program’s first tournament. Three groups of six queens each will battle it out over three episodes each. The top nine will them merge as the rest of the season plays out over three additional episodes. The final episode will be an a Lip Sync Smackdown for the Crown grand finale where the finalists will battle it out for a grand prize of $200,000 and a place in the coveted virtual “Drag Race” Hall of Fame.
This year’s cast includes Acid Betty, Aja, Alyssa Hunter, Bosco, Cynthia Lee Fontaine, Daya Betty, DeJa Skye, Denali, Ginger Minj, Irene the Alien, Jorgeous, Kerri Colby, Lydia B Kollins, Mistress Isabelle Brooks, Nicole Paige Brooks, Olivia Lux, Phoenix, and Tina Burner.
14-time Emmy winner RuPaul Charles will be joined once again on the dias by longtime judges Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley, Ross Mathews, Ts Madison and recurring judge Law Roach.
Two all-new episodes of “All Stars” will debut on Paramount+ on Friday, May 9th. New episodes will drop at 9 PM PT the day before and at midnight every Friday ET.
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