RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars will migrate to Showtime in the summer for what the premium cable outlet is calling a "special edition" of the series.
The eight-episode All-Stars season is set to premiere June 5. It will follow on the heels of Drag Race's 12th season on VH1, which premieres Feb. 28 — and will be used to promote the Showtime All-Stars season. The move is the latest crossover of a property from one ViacomCBS network to another.
"RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars is a culture-defining show that fits perfectly within the contemporary programming Showtime offers in both scripted and unscripted,” Showtime Entertainment president Jana Winograde said Thursday in a statement. "We are excited to take advantage of our relationship with our new sister company VH1 to present a special edition of this sensational series and bring in this passionate and robust fanbase. It's the latest example of how we can leverage our combined portfolio to provide new experiences for our audience."
The move of Drag Race All-Stars to Showtime over the summer is the newest example of the recently combined ViacomCBS spreading some of its programming across multiple outlets. Comedy Central began airing next-day repeats of CBS' The Late Late Show With James Corden in late January, and Pop TV will do the same for The Late Show With Stephen Colbert beginning Tuesday.
Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the Showtime season of Drag Race All-Stars is the only one planned for now, but there's a possibility for more in the future.
ViacomCBS on Thursday also unveiled an expanded version of its CBS All Access streaming platform in its quarterly earnings report. It is expected to include content from Comedy Central, Paramount Network and other networks within the re-merged company and complement both Showtime's subscription service and the free, ad-supported Pluto TV.
Showtime says there's substantial overlap between the RuPaul's Drag Race audience and Showtime viewers. Drag Race does strong business as a download-to-own property, and Showtime is hoping to convert some of those customers into subscribers.
Drag Race All-Stars also bolsters an unscripted and docuseries slate at Showtime that includes The Circus, Couples Therapy, Vice (relocated from HBO and premiering in March) and the upcoming Love Fraud.
VH1, meanwhile, will continue to expand the Drag Race franchise with a celebrity version due later in the year. Drag Race All-Stars is produced by World of Wonder. Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell, Steven Corfe, Mandy Salangang, RuPaul Charles and Tim Palazzola are executive producers.
