RuPaul’s Drag Race moves from VH1 to MTV

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https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/rup...nal%20presence.

The flagship “RuPaul's Drag Race” series is moving to MTV from VH1, where it has aired since 2017. (From 2009 to 2016, it ran on Logo TV.) The shift will come with the premiere of Season 15 on Jan. 6 at 8 p.m. The franchise is also making several expansions in its international presence.

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MTV is ruining RuPaul's Drag Race with shorter episodes

By Brett White @brettwhite
Jan 20, 2023 at 12:13pm

Ever get the feeling you been cheated, henny? A whole lot of RuPaul’s Drag Race fans can say “amen” to that after watching MTV’s edit of the just-launched Season 15. In order to make room on the schedule for a “national crisis” called The Real Friends of WeHo, MTV cut Drag Race’s runtime from 90 minutes to 60 minutes (that’s with commercials; 60 to 40 without). That’s ironic because Season 15 was billed as the biggest in Drag Race herstory. Along with the jump from VH1 to MTV, the season got a double-sized premiere, a cast of sixteen queens, and a $200,000 cash prize. But because it’s losing a third of its runtime, Season 15 is actually going to be the shortest season since Season 9, back in 2017. Fans are not exactly thrilled either. This is why Season 15’s third episode, “All Queens Go to Heaven,” caused such a stir on social media. There’s even a Change.org petition to not only get our 90 minute episodes back, but to also give Real Friends of WeHo the chop. It currently has over 25,000 signatures.

Those 25,000 Drag Race fans (and/or Real Friends enemies) aren’t wrong. Drag Race loses a whole lot when it loses a half hour. The shortened episode felt downright brisk, especially after five seasons of 90-minute episodes (and that’s not counting All Stars and the international seasons). But where exactly were the cuts? Where did the Drag Race editors find a full 20 minutes of content to cut from these episodes? And what do these edits sacrifice in order to give the Real Friends™ airtime?