Drag Race Generator: activated! MTV just dropped a sneak peek at RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 18, and it already has us ready to strut into the New Year. There’s a new batch of queens entering the Werk Room, iconic Drag Race alums on treadmills, and one queen proclaiming herself as the Kris Jenner of drag. We’re so here for it.
You can watch the first 10 minutes of RPDR Season 18 now
In iconic fashion, Season 18 kicks off with Raja, Bob the Drag Queen, and Kim Chi backstage, strapped up to treadmills, and pedaling for their lives to activate the “Drag Race Generator.” According to the preview, these queens are keeping the lights on — literally.
That becomes clear once we head into the Werk Room. The first queen to enter, Athena Dion, immediately realizes something is off. The lights! Season 18 has its queens making their television debuts in near darkness. Not ideal.
We’re going to go out on a limb here and assume that this is the setup for a twist, à la Season 17’s Badonka Dunk Tank. The sneak peek doesn’t fully explain what’s to come, but we’re ready for anything, and so were these queens.
Even without proper lighting, Athena made a strong first impression. A seasoned performer from Miami, she quickly compared herself to the Jenner-Kardashian matriarch thanks to her extensive drag roots. She’s the drag mother to Season 16’s Morphine Love Dion and says she’s also “technically” a drag mom to Plane Jane, who placed third that same season.
“I’m basically the hostess with the mostess in Miami, and I’m a big drag mother with a huge drag family,” Athena said. “I’m definitely the Kris Jenner of drag.”
Moments later, Athena’s other drag daughter, Juicy Love Dion, entered the Werk Room, shocking the rest of the competitors. If Athena is the Kris of drag, does that make Juicy the Kylie Jenner? Maybe. What we do know is that Juicy didn’t come to play.
“The party queen of Miami and Mykonos is finally here,” she declared upon arrival.
You’ll have to tune in to meet the rest of the queens, and to see if the Werk Room ever gets its lights fully turned on. If not, Kim, Raja, and Bob might need to pedal a little harder.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 18 premieres on MTV Friday, January 2 at 8/7c.
TELL US — ARE YOU EXCITED FOR SEASON 18? WHICH OF THE FIRST EIGHT QUEENS HAD YOUR FAVORITE ENTRANCE LOOK?
