The 18th season of the American television series RuPaul's Drag Race premiered on MTV on January 2, 2026.
On August 20, 2024, MTV announced the series renewal for Season 18 along with its companion series '. Casting for the eighteenth season began on September 30, 2024 with a deadline of December 6, 2024.
Season 17 winner Onya Nurve presented the contestants through the series official YouTube channel on December 2, 2025. The promo theme was "Let There Be Light," with the contestants wearing ethereal and flowy looks, and the corresponding marketing being radiant and glowy. An official trailer was released on December 9, 2025, which featured the contestants and the season's celebrity guest judges.
Legend:
RuPaul and Michelle Visage remained as the regular judges, with Carson Kressley, Law Roach, Ts Madison, and Ross Mathews reappearing as alternating judges. Various celebrity guest judges set to appear were revealed on December 9, 2025. Starring celebrity guest judges are listed below in order of episode appearance.
Special guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage.
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The season 18 premiere,You Can't Keep a Good Drag Queen Down!, set an all-time record for the franchise, delivering the highest season premiere rating in Drag Race history.