RuPaul's Drag Race | |
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Season 17 | |
Hosted by | RuPaul |
Judges | |
No. of contestants | 14 |
No. of episodes | 2 |
Release | |
Original network | MTV |
Original release | January 3, 2025 – present |
Season chronology | |
The seventeenth season of the American reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race premiered on January 3, 2025. This marks the third season to air through cable network MTV. The series documents drag queen RuPaul in search of the "Next Drag Superstar" for the United States with a cash prize of $200,000. Michelle Visage remained as a regular judge, alongside with Carson Kressley, Ts Madison, and Ross Mathews reappearing as alternating judges.
Throughout social media, the host RuPaul announced a casting call for drag performers to apply for the seventeenth season on October 30, 2023. The final deadline coincided with the premiere episode of season sixteen on January 5, 2024. [1] Two months later, RuPaul published his memoir titled The House of Hidden Meanings and embarked on a book tour where he was given a flash drive containing an audition tape from drag queen Hormona Lisa. [2] Just months after its sixteenth season concluding, American cable network MTV announced the series renewal, including the companion series, on August 16. [3]
As season sixteen received several nominations at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards, many journalists had the opportunity to visit the main stage and the workroom set. [4] Fans quickly realized the newly-constructed set for the upcoming season with journalists for People witnessing previous contestants Mhi'ya Iman Le'Paige and Morphine Love Dion using the main stage for a lip-sync contest. [5] Architectural Digest released a video on August 22, where previous winner Nymphia Wind tours around the set with production designer Jen Chu explaining the scenery and inspiration for the series. [6]
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported drag performer The Vivienne, inaugurated winner of RuPaul's Drag Race UK (2019) and contestant of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2022), had passed away on January 5, 2025. [7] Subsequently, the second episode of the season featured an in memoriam segment dedicated to The Vivienne, following the regular credits on January 10.[ citation needed ]
A ten-second teaser was released on November 22 throughout social media, with RuPaul announcing the season premiering in January 2025. [8] Nymphia Wind presented the contestants through the series official YouTube channel on December 4, showcasing their ocean-themed outfits and background. [9]
Variety first reported on December 11 that spin-off winner Monét X Change will host The Pit Stop, a weekly webseries served as an aftershow. The first episode premiered through YouTube with alumni contestant Raven as the first guest on January 4, 2025. [10]
The season retained the same format as previous season where contestants rank each other based on their performances for the main challenge; this format parodies television series The Circle . [11] A new format involved judge panelist Michelle Visage inside a dunk tank where during the bottom two, the eliminated contestant chooses one out of the ten random levers, which if successfully struck, would drop Visage into the water. The format rewards the contestant immunity; if they selected the incorrect lever, the contestant will be eliminated. [12]
Contestant | Age | City | Outcome |
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Acacia Forgot | 28 | Los Angeles, California | TBA |
Arrietty | 28 | Seattle, Washington | |
Crystal Envy | 27 | Asbury Park, New Jersey | |
Hormona Lisa | 30 | Chattanooga, Tennessee | |
Jewels Sparkles | 22 | Tampa, Florida | |
Joella | 25 | Los Angeles, California | |
Kori King | 24 | Boston, Massachusetts | |
Lana Ja'Rae | 22 | New York City, New York | |
Lexi Love | 33 | Louisville, Kentucky | |
Lucky Starzzz | 26 | Miami, Florida | |
Lydia B Kollins [b] | 23 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | |
Onya Nurve | 31 | Cleveland, Ohio | |
Sam Star | 24 | Leeds, Alabama | |
Suzie Toot | 24 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | |
Legend:
Contestant | Episode | |||||||||||||||
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1 [15] | 2 [16] | 3 [17] | ||||||||||||||
Acacia Forgot | LOW | BTM | TBA | |||||||||||||
Arrietty | SAFE | Guest | ||||||||||||||
Crystal Envy | Guest | TOP2 | ||||||||||||||
Hormona Lisa | Guest | BDT | ||||||||||||||
Jewels Sparkles | TOP2 | Guest | ||||||||||||||
Joella | SAFE | Guest | ||||||||||||||
Kori King | Guest | SAFE | ||||||||||||||
Lana Ja'Rae | Guest | SAFE | ||||||||||||||
Lexi Love | Guest | WIN | ||||||||||||||
Lucky Starzzz | SAFE | Guest | ||||||||||||||
Lydia B Kollins | SAFE | Guest | ||||||||||||||
Onya Nurve | Guest | SAFE | ||||||||||||||
Sam Star | Guest | SAFE | ||||||||||||||
Suzie Toot | WIN | Guest |
Legend:
Episode | Top contestants | Song | Winner | ||
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1 [15] | Jewels Sparkles | vs. | Suzie Toot | "Woman's World" (Katy Perry) | Suzie Toot |
2 [16] | Crystal Envy | vs. | Lexi Love | "Alter Ego" (Doechii, JT) | Lexi Love |
Bottom contestants | Song | Eliminated | |||
Acacia Forgot | vs. | Hormona Lisa | "Yes, And?" (Ariana Grande) | None [c] | |
RuPaul and Michelle Visage remained as the regular judges, with Carson Kressley, Ts Madison, and Ross Mathews reappearing as alternating judges. Various guest judges were revealed on December 12, and set to appear in the upcoming season. Celebrities are listed in chronological order. [19]
Special guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage.
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date | |
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224 | 1 | "Squirrel Games" | January 3, 2025 | |
All 14 new queens along with other queens from previous seasons perform in a Squid Game inspired challenge called "Ru Light, Green Light", where they serve and move forward, but when the music stops and Lil' Poundcake turns around, they have to strike a pose. All queens from previous seasons are eliminated, leaving only the new queens. They all then enter the werkroom, and find out that "Ru Light, Green Light" was a photoshoot mini challenge. Lana Ja'Rae wins the mini challenge. For the main challenge, the queens split into two groups, with seven of them performing a talent in Drag Queens Got Talent.
On the runway, category is Masc For Masked Singer. The queens who didn't perform in this episode rank the queens performances using Rate-A-Queen, where it is announced that Jewels Sparkles and Suzie Toot are the top two queens of the week, and will lip-sync for the win. It is also announced that Acacia Forgot was rated lowest and will be lip-syncing for her life in the next episode. Jewels Sparkles and Suzie Toot lip-sync to "Woman's World" by Katy Perry. After the lip-sync, Suzie Toot is announced as the winner of the challenge.
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225 | 2 | "Drag Queens Got Talent – Part 2" | January 10, 2025 | |
For the main challenge, the remaining seven queens perform a talent performing a talent in Drag Queens Got Talent.
On the runway, category is Is It Cake?. The queens who didn't perform in this episode rank the queens performances using Rate-A-Queen, where it is announced that Crystal Envy and Lexi Love are the top two queens of the week, and will lip-sync for the win. They then lip-sync to "Alter Ego" by Doechii and JT. After the lip-sync, Lexi Love is announced as the winner of the challenge. It was later announced that Hormona Lisa was rated lowest and will be lip-syncing for her life against Acacia Forgot, who was ranked the lowest in the previous episode. They then lip-sync to "Yes, And" by Ariana Grande. Acacia Forgot wins the lip-sync, but RuPaul reveals a new twist called "Badonka Dunk", where the eliminated queen gets to pull a lever, with two of them dunking Michelle Visage into a tank of water; if Michelle is dunked, the queen is saved from elimination. Hormona Lisa pulls the 7th lever, which dunks Michelle into the water and therefore saves Hormona from elimination.
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226 | 3 | "Monopulence!" [24] | January 17, 2025 | |
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227 | 4 | "Bitch, I'm a Drag Queen!" [25] | January 24, 2025 | |
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228 | 5 | [26] | January 31, 2025 | |
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229 | 6 | "Let's Get Sea Sickening Ball" [27] | February 7, 2025 | |
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The seventeenth season, and its companion series, premiered through MTV with its first episode on January 3, 2025. [28] The season will consists of sixteen episodes and airs weekly at 8:00 p.m. (EST). [29] Episodes were later released throughout various streaming services such as Crave for Canada, Stan for Australia, and on WOW Presents Plus internationally with next-day availability starting on January 4. [30]
No. | Title | Air date | Rating (18–49) | Viewers (millions) | Ref. |
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1 | "Squirrel Games" | January 3, 2025 | 0.24 | 0.671 | [31] |
2 | "Drag Queens Got Talent" | January 10, 2025 | 0.17 | 0.494 | [32] |
RuPaul's Drag Race is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV, WOW Presents Plus, VH1 and, beginning with the fifteenth season, MTV. The show documents RuPaul in the search for "America's next drag superstar". RuPaul plays the role of host, mentor, and head judge for this series, as contestants are given different challenges each week. Contestants are judged by a panel that includes RuPaul, Michelle Visage, one of three rotating judges, as well as one or more guest judges, who critique their progress throughout the competition. The title of the show is a play on drag queen and drag racing, and the title sequence and song "Drag Race" both have a drag-racing theme.
The fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race began airing on January 28, 2013, with a 90-minute premiere episode, and ended on May 6 of the same year. The winner of season five headlined Logo's Drag Race Tour featuring Absolut Vodka, won a one-of-a-kind trip, a lifetime supply of Colorevolution Cosmetics, and a cash prize of $100,000. Santino Rice and Michelle Visage returned as judges at the panel.
Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson, best known by the stage name Alyssa Edwards, is an American drag performer, choreographer, and businessperson. Edwards was known for competing in drag pageantry before rising to international attention as a contestant on the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, becoming a fan favorite during and after her time on the show. Edwards subsequently appeared on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars and starred in her own web series, Alyssa's Secret. She won the first ever season of RuPaul's Drag Race Global All Stars, making her the first queen to be inducted into the "Newly Constructed International Pavilion At the Drag Race Hall of Fame".
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars is an American reality competition spin off edition of the original RuPaul's Drag Race, which is produced by World of Wonder, for Logo TV and later VH1. The show premiered on October 22, 2012, on Logo TV, before relocating to VH1. However, it was announced on February 20, 2020, on the show's official Twitter account that the fifth season would premiere on June 5, 2020, on Showtime. Following the cast announcement on May 8, 2020, producers announced that the show would remain airing on VH1 instead of Showtime due to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused "various scheduling and programming adjustments". On February 24, 2021, Paramount+ announced via Twitter that the streaming service would be the new home to the series for the sixth season.
"Halftime Headliners" is the fourth episode of the sixth season of the American reality competition television series RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, which aired on online streaming service Paramount+ on July 8, 2021. The episode has contestants impersonate famous singers and musicians and lip sync to a medley of RuPaul songs, inspired by Super Bowl's Halftime Shows. Jamal Sims served as guest judges, alongside regular panelists RuPaul, Michelle Visage and Carson Kressley.
The seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars premiered on Paramount+ on May 20 and concluded on July 29, 2022.
The fifteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race premiered January 6, 2023. The reality competition series moved to MTV for broadcast, instead of VH1 in the United States.
RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World is an international all-stars series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK and its franchise. The all-stars series premiered on 1 February 2022, through BBC Three and WOW Presents Plus. RuPaul acts as the host, head judge, and executive producer of the series.
The sixteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race premiered on January 5, 2024. The reality competition series, broadcast on MTV in the United States, showcases fourteen drag queens competing for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar" and a cash prize of $200,000.
The fifth season of Canada's Drag Race premiered on November 21, 2024. The season airs on Crave in Canada and on WOW Presents Plus internationally.
"Queen Choice Awards" is the second episode of the sixteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. Becky G is a guest judge, and former contestant Derrick Barry also makes a guest appearance as the host of the episode's talent show.
"The Mother of All Balls" is the third episode of the sixteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. Isaac Mizrahi is a guest judge.
"Rate-A-Queen" is the first episode of the sixteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. It originally aired on January 5, 2024. Charlize Theron is a guest judge. Former contestant Derrick Barry also makes a guest appearance, hosting the episode's main challenge, which is a talent show.
"See You Next Wednesday" is the ninth episode of the sixteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. It originally aired on March 1, 2024. Kaia Gerber is a guest judge.
"Werq the World " is the tenth episode of the sixteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. It originally aired on March 8, 2024. Jamal Sims is a guest judge. Leland is also a special guest.
"Corporate Queens" is the eleventh episode of the sixteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. It originally aired on March 15, 2024. Joel Kim Booster is a guest judge.
"Bathroom Hunties" is the twelfth episode of the sixteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. It originally aired on March 22, 2024. Mayan Lopez is a guest judge, and Norvina from Anastasia Beverly Hills also makes a guest appearance. Plane Jane wins the episode's Tammy Faye Messner-inspired mini-challenge, and Sapphira Cristál becomes the show's first and only contestant to win three consecutive main challenges. Dawn is eliminated from the competition after placing in the bottom two and losing a lip-sync against Morphine Love Dion to "Body" by Megan Thee Stallion.
"Drag Race Vegas Live! Makeovers" is the thirteenth episode of the sixteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. It originally aired on March 29, 2024. Kelsea Ballerini is a guest judge.
"Squirrel Games" is the seventeenth season premiere of the American reality competition television series RuPaul's Drag Race, and the 224th episode overall. The episode first aired in the United States through cable network MTV on January 3, 2025. It was followed by an episode of the companion series RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked.
"Drag Queens Got Talent – Part 2" is the second episode of the seventeenth season of the American reality television series RuPaul's Drag Race. The episode originally aired on MTV on January 10, 2025. It sees a second group of seven contestants participate in a talent show, with the season's other contestants judging via Rate-A-Queen. Joining regular panelists RuPaul and Michelle Visage are alternating judge Ts Madison and guest judge Doechii. Lawrence Chaney also makes a guest appearance.