RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race Season 2: See the First 5 Minutes of the Starry Premiere
RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race has a whole new format for season 2, and PEOPLE has an exclusive look at the starry premiere.
The VH1 reality show, which kicks off Friday, asks stars to "unleash the drag queen that lies within." And for season 2, the series is getting a radical transformation of its own, keeping the identities of the celebs a secret from the audience until they're eliminated from the competition each week.
It's a format that's similar to The Masked Singer, the setting of the show even moving from RuPaul's iconic workroom to a stage live in front of a studio audience. But as Ru says in the premiere's opening, "this ain't no guessing game."
"We are keeping our contestant's identities a secret so you can stay laser-focused on their charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent," Ru explains.
A total of 9 celebrities will participate in the show, the stars "agreeing to leave their famous identities behind" as they undergo "a wig to heel transformation." Each week, they'll perform in a lip sync extravaganza. The bottom two queens will face off in a sudden-death "lip sync for your life" that will send one celeb home.
All is to win $100,000 for their favorite charity, and the title of "America's Next Celeb Drag Superstar."
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"I live to be on stage," one star says in the trailer, another adding that the show is "an exercise in self-confidence."
"People have always known who I am. I can't hide," a hidden celeb says. "So assuming a new identity is really exciting for me."
"This is going to shock the hell out of everybody!" jokes another.
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Helping the queens along the way are Ru's "Queen Supreme Mentors" — RuPaul's Drag Race standout Jujubee, RuPaul's Drag Race Canada judge Brooke Lynn Hytes and RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars season 4 champ Monét X Change.
Other stars from the Drag Race family — Eureka, Gottmik, Katya, Morgan McMichaels, Silky Nutmeg Ganache, and Violet Chachki — will stop by as "extra special guests stars" throughout the season.
As for the judges, those will all be familiar faces to Drag Race viewers: Michele Visage, Carson Kressley, Ross Mathews and RuPaul herself.
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All in all, the show is designed to be a fun ride. "Drag doesn't change who you are, it reveals who you are," RuPaul says in the premiere.
RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race season 2 premieres Friday (8 p.m. ET) on VH1.
