Format
Casting calls are announced online, where prospective contestants submit audition tapes in hopes of being cast. All contestants selected must be 21 years of age or older at the time of taping. While sexual orientation is not important, to date, most contestants have been gay men. Transgender women are eligible to win, and have become more common as seasons have progressed. Sonique (a season two contestant) became the series' first transgender contestant when revealed her status as transgender during her season's reunion special,E-2.12 while Monica Beverly Hillz became the first transgender woman to reveal her status during the competition in season five.E-5.01 The remaining transgender contestants have entered the competition as biologically male, but then began transitioning after their elimination. Season three contestant Carmen Carrera announced her own transition during an episode of ABC's Primetime: What Would You Do?, and Season 4 contestant Kenya Michaels announced her own transition via Facebook and Twitter.
RuPaul plays dual roles in the show. USA Today's Lifeline explains: "RuPaul the drag queen will be the final word in judging and eliminations, while RuPaul the man will offer guidance to contestants for each challenge." RuPaul's Drag Race uses progressive elimination to reduce the initial field of drag queens (which was established as including fourteen in the fifth season) down to three before the final challenge. Each episode (with the exception of the casting special, "recap" episode, and reunion special) follows a format consisting of a mini challenge, a main challenge, a runway walk (where the contestants model fashion on a runway, usually in a theme based on the main challenge), and the judging panel.
Read more about this topic: Ru Paul's Drag Race