Bingeable: Rupaul's Drag Race: All Stars 2 

click to enlarge

• Photo Coutresy Of LogoTV
• BRING IT TO THE RUNWAY Ten contestants from previous seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race face off for a spot in the drag race hall of fame.

When? 2016

Where's it available? Streaming on LOGOtv

Just days after VH1 renewed RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars for a third season, I've binge-watched All Stars 2, one of my favorite seasons of Drag Race to date. All Stars is a spin-off of RuPaul's Drag Race, where chosen contestants go wig-to-wig in a series of challenges for the cash price of $100,000, a year's supply of Anastasia Beverly Hills cosmetics, and a spot in the Drag Race hall of fame. If you have nine hours to spare, this season is watched best in a binge.

Each episode brings another twist more shady than the last. Just when you think the queens couldn't get any more sickening, they do, and it comes with a heaping load of drama on the side.

Where does one even begin with All Stars 2? First off, these queens are seasoned competitors now. It's their second time up to bat at the big leagues of drag, so they're bringing their charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent to every challenge with gusto. Their runway looks are polished, their fans are now fanatics, and they've had some time to reflect on their previous performances along with their journey of newfound fame. Queens who compete on all stars are the best of the best, there is no room for excuses here, and the judges have no mercy when it comes to critiques. And henny, you better know how to sew—that dress isn't going to make itself.

Even if you've never seen an episode in your life, the level of expertise each queen brings to challenge after challenge is easy to follow, and the looks they turn out on the runway are everything. Competitors face-off in a series of challenges and mini-challenges followed by a themed runway ensemble that they must create. My favorite outfit to grace this season's runway is from my girl Katya. In the two-in-one dress challenge, her golden dress transformed into a red velvet dress, and she ripped off her clip-on bangs to reveal a pentagram "carved" into her forehead. Satanic glamour, my personal cup of tea.

All tea, all shade, All Stars 2 just might be the best season of drag race yet. The RuPaul franchise is infamous for jaw-dropping plot twists, but this time around, Mama Ru really switched things up: There were no teams, and the top two queens had to lip-sync for their legacy, instead of lip-syncing for their lives (their place in the competition). The winner of that lip-sync got to choose which of the bottom two got eliminated, or in the words of RuPaul, "sashayed away." This change sparked controversy throughout the season when a few select queens chose personal allegiances over challenge performances to decide who was on the chopping block (Ro-Laska-Tox, anyone?)

Any given season, RuPaul's Drag Race has it all; it's like Project Runway meets Survivor meets queer reality television. The show gives its audience countless tastes of fashion, makeup, and tender looks into the contestants' personal lives. Every finale is like a big, gay Super Bowl, except nobody gets concussions, and football players can't jump into a split on command.

There is little ground between a casual drag race watcher and a full-blown obsession. RuPaul's Drag Race fans are comparable to no other fan base (yes, even Game of Thrones). They are bloodthirsty and ruthless, they know every piece of trivia, they will do anything for their favorite queen, and they will stop at nothing to predict the upcoming season's cast. So watch at your own risk as the level of dedication exhibited by fans makes the show painfully susceptible to spoilers. (nine, 40-minute episodes.) Δ