Drag Race's VH1 debut, and the format's biggest production- scale jump to date. The premiere opened with Lady Gaga at the judge's table, a signal of the cultural altitude the show had reached. The cast leaned charismatic and varied across drag styles, and the workroom-and-runway shape held its weight under the bigger network treatment. RuPaul Charles hosted alongside Michelle Visage and a rotating fourth chair. The season reset the franchise's reach without flattening its craft.
Slot #03 of 17 in the RuPaul's Drag Race Editor's Canon. The seasons on either side show what I ranked it against.