Competitive Formats
Here at RuPaul's Fantasy Drag Race, we like to keep things fresh by mixing up our competitive formats throughout our seasons. This is a look at the competitive formats featured in our seasons so far:
Standard Season Formats
The Classic: Bottom 2 LSFYL
The format that started it all, this is the classic Drag Race competitive standard. Each episode, the bottom 2 queens lipsync for their lives in a final attempt to impress RuPaul. The winner of the lipsync is told to "shantay" which means stay, and the loser is told to "sashay away," meaning they exit the competition.
In this classic format, each episode generally sees one challenge winner and two bottom queens.
Bottom 3, Winner's Save
This format originates from Season 4 of Cananda's Drag Race. Each episode, the bottom 3 queens are declared. After deliberating in untucked, the winner of the challenge saves one of the bottom 3 queens from lipsycning. After this save, the remaining bottom 2 queens lipsync for their lives.
In this format, each episode generally sees one challenge winner and three bottom queens, though rarely, we've seen a bottom 4 declared with two challenge winners, each of whom save one queen from the bottom, still resulting in a bottom 2 lipsync.
Winner Immunity
This format originates from the early seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race. A spin-off of the standard bottom 2 format, each episode's challenge winner is granted immunity from the bottom 2 for one episode after their win. Should they score a bottom placement in the following episode, they are instead spared with a "low" placement, the next lowest scoring queen taking their place.
Rate-a-Queen
This format is inspired by season 16 of RuPauls Drag Race. Each episode, the queens rate each other's performances. Based on the queens' ratings, the challenge winner and the bottom 2 queens of the week are determined. The bottom 2 queens lipsync for their lives as usual. This format has yet to be implemented on a season of RPFDR.
All Stars Formats
Top 2, Lipsync for Your Legacy
This format originates from the original All Stars seasons of Rupaul's Drag Race. Each episode, the top 2 queens are declared winners. After deliberations in untucked, the top 2 queens then lipsync for their legacy, with the winning queen gaining the power to eliminated one of the bottom queens.
Each episode typically has two challenge winners, and two bottom queens, but bottom 3s have also been known to occur.
All Winners 1
This format is inspired by RuPauls Drag Race All Stars season 7. The queens on this season compete for Fantastic Fantasy Stars (FFS). At the end of the season, the 4 queens with the most FFSs compete in a lipsync smackdown for the crown.
Each episode queens can earn FFSs in the following ways:
1 star is awarded for winning the mini challenge.
1 star is awarded for scoring the highest in a specific category of the main challenge.
1 star is awarded for the highest runway score.
1 star is awarded to each of the top 2 queens of the week.
1 star is awarded to the winner of the lipsync for your legacy.
Drag Wars
This format sees two teams in competition for a single crown, one team from RPFDR and one from another franchise.
Each episode, the sum of each team's individual queens' scores determines the winning team.
The highest scoring queen on the winning team is declared the sole challenge winner.
The losing team, with no deliberation, privately votes to save one of their own queens from the bottom 2.
The challenge winner than decides the bottom 2 queens, selecting from the losing team.
The bottom 2 queens lipsync for their lives.
Lipsync Assassin
This format is inspired by Rupaul's Drag Race Season 5. Each week, a single challenge winner is declared, as well as a bottom 2 (sometimes a bottom 3). After deliberations in untucked, the challenge winner privately chooses which of the bottom 2 queens to send home. The other queens also each vote privately. The challenge winner than faces off in a lipsync for your legacy against a secret lipsync assassin from a past season of RPFDR. If the challenge winner wins the lipsync, she eliminates her chosen queen. If the lipsync assassin wins the lipsync, the other queens' votes determine who is eliminated. This format has yet to appear on a season of RPFDR.
Vs the World Formats
Vs the World 1: Flames of Fate
This is a spin-off of the classic lipsync for your legacy All Stars format. Each episode sees a top 2 and bottom 2, with the top 2 lipsyncing for their legacies and the winner choosing who is eliminated.
The Flames of Fate twist allows each eliminated queen to pass on her Flame of Fate to any queen of their choosing. If a queen accumulates 3 Flames of Fate, she may choose to extinguish all of her Flames (including her own) to remove herself from a bottom placement. The remaining queens are unaware of this twist until this reveal occurs. The next lowest scoring queen takes the place of the queen who saves herself.
Vs the World 2: Winds of Whim
This is a spin-off of the classic lipsync for your legacy All Stars format. Each episode sees a top 2 and bottom 2, with the top 2 lipsyncing for their legacies and the winner choosing who is eliminated.
The Winds of Whim twist allows each eliminated queen one final chance to return to the competition. Upon elimination, a queen predicts which queen will be next eliminated. If she is correct, she returns to the competition the following episode. The remaining queens are unaware of this twist until this reveal occurs.
