RuPaul’s Drag Race viewers slam production for “terrible” Season 16 writing

Je'Kayla Crawford
Morphine and Mirage from RuPaul's Drag Race

The comedy sketch challenge from Episode 4 of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16 didn’t get the best reviews from fans.

When it comes to RuPaul’s Drag Race, there is an even balance between what is scripted and what isn’t.

While the entrance lines and iconic quips usually come naturally from the queens, the show is in charge of writing the material for certain challenges, especially when it comes to acting challenges.

Episode 4 of Season 16 was interesting because the contestants had to show off their acting skills in a sketch comedy show challenge, where they had to memorize lines and nail their characters. In addition to the normal judging panel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Sarah Michelle Gellar was also in charge of analyzing the show.

The comedy sketch bombed in the eyes of viewers, but they don’t think the cast should be to blame.

The Episode 1 cast of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 16

RuPaul’s Drag Race fans divided over Season 16 writing

On January 27, RDR viewers took to Reddit to slam Season 16’s production team for their writing skills, with most saying that it was either just plain horrible and others having the opinion that perhaps the show is trying to make the writing intentionally terrible.

One fan wrote, “Who ever is writing these comedy sketches needs to be replaced. When the queens write the material themselves it’s almost always way better. Am I the only one who feels that the writing is terrible or does anyone else feel the same way?”

Another fan countered and wrote, “Isn’t the writing a stylistic choice though? In line and on par with most of the acting Ru prefers. It’s meant to be kinda bad. Ru loves camp.”

Hopefully, MTV will take viewers’ feedback into consideration for Season 17, if the series gets renewed.

About The Author

Je'Kayla is a US Reality TV Senior Writer with Dexerto. She covers all things Reality TV news, with a focus on Love Is Blind and Below Deck. Feel free to reach out at jekayla.crawford@dexerto.com.