Hi all!
Today I am providing a retrospective on All Stars 10 and where I believe it went wrong. Before I begin, I want to say that overall, I loved the cast and mean no disrespect to the winner. The format was fun (although clunky), the looks on the main stage were epic, and the level of entertainment was on point. However, it was far from perfect. Without further ado, let’s get into it!
Spoilers Ahead!
1.) The Pre-Meditated Season
The very worst Drag Race seasons are the pre-meditated ones. By this, I mean when production has already crowned a winner before filming has even begun. They have tunnel-vision where any other contestant is concerned; their minds already made up. From there, they push and rig the competition at every turn in order to ensure their favourite gets a crown. But here’s the thing. It ends up having negative repercussions for everyone involved. The ratings tank, the fans are furious and the winner that they favoured, receives an avalanche of hate (through no fault of their own), because of the way things played out. I understand it is a reality television show first and a competition second, but in order to gain and maintain viewership, there needs to be a balance of both. All Stars 10 was zero competition and all reality show shenanigans. Please remember Ginger is not to blame in the slightest. She didn’t ask for this, so don’t be toxic. We should hold production accountable for putting together a season that was set-up from the beginning. Ginger could have easily won without so much production interference. They should have let her talent speak for itself. However, if I’m being truthful, she should never have been cast to begin with.
2.) The Missed Opportunities
The missed opportunities of All Stars 10 will continue to haunt me. Think about how incredible a Bosco/Lydia B. Kollins top 2 would have been, or getting to witness Aja vs. Denali lip sync for the crown. Can you imagine Irene the Alien winning after her initial run on season 15? The combinations are endless and FAR better than what we were given. Ginger Minj had already competed four times at this point and Jorgeous had just appeared on All Stars 9 in 2024. In my personal opinion, it was way too soon for Jorgeous to return and Ginger’s storyline on Drag Race had concluded, having made the finale on her original season and All Stars 6. The fans would have loved to have seen those that hadn’t competed before – or at least hadn’t competed in several years – come out on top; truly earning their spot in the Hall of Fame. Instead, we were presented with an extremely unsatisfying conclusion to a very rigged season.
3.) The Extreme Riggory
Speaking of riggory, that was this season’s biggest crime. It started off so well. The Orange Bracket wasn’t rigged in the slightest and the Pink Bracket, whilst slightly questionable, had a lot of redeeming moments. The minute we entered the Purple Bracket, everything went downhill. It was clear from the jump that regardless of performance, merit, storyline etc, Ginger would be in the top for all three episodes, winning lip-syncs the fandom largely agreed upon that she lost. Not only that, the challenges in her bracket were conveniently tailored to suit her skill set. Even in the design challenge (which she is known for not being overly adept), they included an additional comedic component, where she could shine; pulling focus from her garment. The second challenge, the country performance, was perfect for her singing abilities and Southern roots. To cap it all off, the final challenge was improvisation – Ginger’s wheelhouse. The rest of the queens never stood a chance. By the time the semi-finalists made the merge, it was evident who would be taking the crown. The Lip Sync Smackdown finale might have been the most rigged of all. Ginger was rated as the #1 lip sync assassin; given the song preference both times a ‘ball was chosen.’ It has since come out that really great reveals and stunts from Kerri Colby were cut in order to make Ginger seem like the stronger performer. The same happened to Jorgeous, who clearly nailed the top 2 lip sync to ‘It’s Raining Men’. All we saw was the camera focusing on Ginger. Production didn’t even try to hide what they were doing. It was blatantly obvious. Do they genuinely believe we are that stupid or do they simply not care? Either way, it was a poor outcome to a very convoluted season.
4.) The Bracket System
Learning of the format pre-season, I thought it would be awful. Once I saw it in practice however, I enjoyed it a lot more. Having said that, it does need tweaking. Firstly, the Orange Bracket delivered a double premiere; meaning we only got two weeks with them, as opposed to three like the Pink and Purple Brackets. I truly hope they don’t do that again. It was detrimental for the six queens – especially those that didn’t make the merge – and disappointing for viewers who wanted more time with them. Secondly, the merge was very anticlimactic. We finally had all of these amazing semi-finalists together, only to give them two competitive episodes before the finale. It wasn’t enough. The entire structure needed to be spaced out more. The pacing was very off. Also, as mentioned above, the excitement and joy fans experienced at the beginning, was soon snuffed out once the Purple Bracket began. It was a strategic decision from production putting it last, but it still didn’t work. Riggory is riggory no matter how good a season starts.
5.) The Future Of All Stars
Without spoiling too much, All Stars 11 will also operate as a three bracket system. The confirmed cast is already available on Drag Race Wiki and I’m just praying they don’t do a repeat of All Stars 10. They must learn from these issues and improve upon them. Production needs to take a giant step back from interfering and let things play out a little more naturally. Allow every queen a shot at the crown, distribute the wins evenly and be guided by the feedback from the previous season. The ratings will go up, fans will be happier and the queens will want to return. Why do you think so many of them are turning down the opportunity? It’s not worth their time, money and mental health. I’m hoping it redeems itself moving forward. After All Stars 10 and Global All Stars, I’m not overly confident.
Please keep in mind, there were many good things about this season too. This post is just focusing on what didn’t work. As always, send love, not hate to the queens and keep supporting them however you can.
Thank you so much for reading! What did you think of All Stars 10?