RuPaul's Drag Race hits highest ever ratings with season 13 premiere

According to Deadline, over 1.3 million US viewers tuned in to watch Drag Race's season 13 debut on New Year's Day, which saw 13 new queens compete for the title of America's Next Drag Superstar.

The episode was broadcast across multiple networks in the US, including VH1, The CW, MTV, MTV2, PopTV and Logo, while viewers in the UK were able to watch the series premiere on Netflix.

The long-running series, dubbed the Olympics of drag, opened with a huge Drag Race plot twist this season, with the line-up of contestants immediately lip syncing for a place in the competition.

Show creator and star RuPaul celebrated the ratings news on Twitter, writing: "HIGHEST RATED #DragRace Premiere Ever," alongside a shot of the Pork Chop Loading Dock – the seating area for contestants who'd lost the first six lip syncs of the series.

https://twitter.com/RuPaul/status/1346232776173842432?s=20

While the lip sync losers were initially told they would be leaving the competition, the premiere ended on a cliffhanger, with the bottom seven contestants having to vote one person out.

At the end of last year, Drag Race announced the full RuPaul's Drag Race cast, featuring the show's first-ever transgender man – 23-year-old LA makeup artist Gottmik.

Other contestants include Kahmora Hall, the drag sister of season 12 winner Jaida Essence Hall, and Kandy Muse, of the former House of Aja.

Seasons 1-12 of Ru Paul’s Drag Race are available to watch on Netflix now. To find out what else is on, check out our TV Guide.