The eighteenth season of the American television series RuPaul's Drag Race premiered on MTV on January 2, 2026. == Development == On August 20, 2024, MTV announced the series renewal for Season 18 along with its companion series RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked. Casting for the eighteenth season began on September 30, 2024 with a deadline of December 6, 2024. == Marketing == Season 17 winner Onya Nurve presented the contestants through the series official YouTube channel on December 2, 2025. An official trailer was released on December 9, 2025, which featured the contestants and the season's celebrity guest judges. == Contestants == == Contestant progress == Legend: == Lip syncs == Legend: == Guest judges == 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 === Special guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage. Episode 1 Bob The Drag Queen, winner of season 8 Kim Chi, contestant on season 8 Raja, winner of season 3, and contestant on All Stars season 7 Jamal Sims, choreographer and director Erika La'Pearl, celebrity make-up artist Tokyo Stylez, celebrity hairstylist and wigmaker == Episodes == == Footnotes == == References ==