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“RuPaul’s Drag Race” snatched its highest rating in four years, TheWrap can reveal exclusively.
The second episode of Season 16, which premiered on Friday, Jan. 12, scored a 0.91 rating among adults 18-34 on MTV, the highest the show has seen since the Season 12 finale on VH1 on May 29, 2020, according to Nielsen live-plus-three-day figures. Viewership for the episode soared 18% from the 0.78 rating brought in by the Season 16 premiere on Jan. 5.
The Jan. 12 episode also scored the show’s highest share ever — or the percentage of viewers tuning in during primetime — among young adults with a 10.11 share among adults 18-34. The share was up 29% when compared to last week’s Season 16 premiere, which brought in a 7.81 share.
The episode marked the No. 1 most-watched entertainment telecast across cable for the week between Monday and Friday. It also scored big on social media as the No. 1 social cable program on Friday night, drawing 454,000 interactions and 538,000 views.
Featuring guest judge Charlize Theron, the Season 16 premiere welcomed seven new queens to the reality competition series to compete for the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar and a cash prize of $200,000. Episode 2 introduced the season’s other seven contestants, with special guest judge Becky G. The new season also brings back the aftershow, “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked,” airing immediately after new episodes launch.
The two-part premiere followed as the queens jumped into the competition with the iconic talent show Maxi Challenge, which featured themes of MTV’s Spring Break and the “Queen Choice Awards.” After each challenge, the queens were asked to “Rate-A-Queen” and determine the week’s tops and bottoms amongst themselves.
The beloved show is also celebrate its 15th anniversary next month, after first premiering Feb. 2, 2009, on Logo. Host RuPaul received his eighth Emmy for emceeing the reality competition series this year, with “Drag Race” scoring its fifth Emmy for best competition series.
