RuPaul's Drag Race season 17

RuPaul's Drag Race
Season 17
Promotional poster for season seventeen
Hosted by	RuPaul
Judges	RuPaul Michelle Visage Carson Kressley Ross Mathews Ts Madison
No. of contestants	14
No. of episodes	1
Release
Original network	MTV
Original release	January 3, 2025 (2025-01-03) – present
Season chronology

The seventeenth season of 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.

Production

Development

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]

Workroom

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]

Marketing

A ten-second teaser was released on November 22 throughout social media, with RuPaul announcing the season premiering in January 2025.^[7] Nymphia Wind presented the contestants through the series official YouTube channel on December 4, showcasing their ocean-themed outfits and background.^[8]

Variety first reported on December 11 that spin-off winner Monét X Change will host The Pit Stop, a webseries served as an aftershow. The first episode will premiere through YouTube with alumni contestant Raven as the first guest on January 4, 2025.^[9]

Format

Further information: RuPaul's Drag Race § Format

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.^[10] A new format involved judge panelist Michelle Visage in a dunk tank where contestants choose two out of the ten random levers, which if successfully struck, would drop Visage into the water; the format can reward the contestant immunity. If they selected the incorrect lever, the contestant will be up for elimination.^[11]

Contestants

Main article: List of RuPaul's Drag Race contestants

RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 contestants and their backgrounds^[a]

Contestant	Age	City	Outcome
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, New York
Lexi Love	34	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

Contestant progress

Legend:

  WIN indicates that the contestant won the challenge.

  TOP2 indicates that the contestant was one of the two best performing in the challenge, but lost the lip sync to win it.

  SAFE indicates that the contestant was declared safe by the judges.

  LOW indicates that the contestant placed the lowest in Rate-A-Queen and was up for elimination in the next episode.

  SAVE indicates that the contestant lost the lip sync, but was saved by pulling the correct lever.

  BTM (Bottom) indicates that the contestant was up for elimination.

  ELIM (Eliminated) indicates that the contestant was eliminated.

  Guest indicates that the contestant returned as a guest.

Contestants progress with placements in each episode

Contestant	Episode
	1[14]	2[15]
Acacia Forgot	LOW	BTM
Arrietty	SAFE	Guest
Crystal Envy	Guest	TOP2
Hormona Lisa	Guest	SAVE
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

Lip Syncs

Legend

  The contestant won the lip sync to win the challenge.

  The contestant got saved from being eliminated by pulling the right lever on the Badonkadunk Tank.

Episode	Top contestants			Song	Winner
1[14]	Jewels Sparkles	vs.	Suzie Toot	"Woman's World" (Katy Perry)	Suzie Toot
2[15]	Lexi Love	vs.	Crystal Envy	"Alter Ego" (Doechii)	Lexi Love
	Bottom contestants			Song	Saved
	Acacia Forgot	vs.	Hormona Lisa	"Yes, And?" (Ariana Grande)	Hormona Lisa

Guest judges

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.^[16]

• Katy Perry, singer, songwriter, and television personality^[14]
• Doechii, rapper and singer^[15]
• Sandra Bernhard, actress, comedian and singer
• Julia Schlaepfer, actress
• Adam Lambert, singer and actor
• Betsey Johnson, fashion designer
• Hunter Schafer, actress and model
• Jerrod Carmichael, actor, comedian and writer
• June Diane Raphael, actress and comedian
• Law Roach, retired stylist
• Paul W. Downs, actor and writer
• Quinta Brunson, actress and comedian
• Sam Smith, singer
• Tracee Ellis Ross, actress
• Whitney Cummings, actress and stand-up comedian

Special guests

Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage.

Episode 1

• Angeria Paris VanMichaels, contestant on season 14, and winner of All Stars season 9
• Aura Mayari, contestant on season 15
• Bianca Del Rio, winner of season 6
• Honey Davenport, contestant on season 11
• Jaymes Mansfield, contestant on season 9 and All Stars season 8
• Kerri Colby, contestant on season 14
• Kimora Blac, contestant on season 9
• Kylie Sonique Love, contestant on season 2 and winner of All Stars season 6
• Mayhem Miller, contestant on season 10, All Stars season 5 and RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. The World series 2
• Morgan McMichaels, contestant on season 2 and All Stars season 3
• Trinity the Tuck, contestant on season 9, All Stars season 7 and winner of All Stars season 4
• Victoria "Porkchop" Parker, contestant on season 1

Episode 2

• Lawrence Chaney, winner of RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 2

Episodes

See also: List of RuPaul's Drag Race episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original release date
224	1	"Squirrel Games"	January 3, 2025 (2025-01-03)
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 perform a talent in Drag Queens Got Talent. Acacia Forgot – Playing guitar / Live singing Arrietty – Lip-sync / Baile Folklorico Jewels Sparkles – Original song lip-sync Joella – Original song lip-sync Lucky Starzzz – Original song lip-sync Lydia B Kollins – Original song lip-sync / Comedy burlesque Suzie Toot – Original song lip-sync / Tap dancing 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. Guest Judge: Katy Perry Alternating Judge: Carson Kressley Mini-Challenge: Ru Light, Green Light Mini-Challenge Winner: Lana Ja'Rae Mini-Challenge Prize: $2,500 cash tip Main Challenge: Perform a talent in Drag Queens Got Talent – Part 1 Runway Theme: Masc For Masked Singer Top Two: Jewels Sparkles and Suzie Toot Lip-sync Song: "Woman's World" by Katy Perry Challenge Winner: Suzie Toot Challenge Prize: $5,000 cash prize
225	2	"Drag Queens Got Talent – Part 2"[17]	January 10, 2025 (2025-01-10)
Guest Judge: Doechii Alternating Judge: Ts Madison Main Challenge: Perform a talent in Drag Queens Got Talent – Part 2 Runway Theme: Is It Cake? Top Two: Crystal Envy and Lexi Love Lip-sync Song: "Alter Ego" by Doechii Challenge Winner: Lexi Love Challenge Prize: $5,000 cash prize Bottom Two: Acacia Forgot & Hormona Lisa
226	3	"Monopulence!"[18]	January 17, 2025 (2025-01-17)
Guest Judge: Sandra Bernhard Runway Theme: TBA Lip-sync Song: TBA Challenge Winner: TBA Challenge Prize: TBA
227	4	"Bitch, I'm a Drag Queen!"[19]	January 24, 2025 (2025-01-24)
Guest Judge: Julia Schlaepfer Runway Theme: TBA Lip-sync Song: TBA Challenge Winner: TBA Challenge Prize: TBA
228	5	[20]	January 31, 2025 (2025-01-31)
Guest Judge: TBA Runway Theme: TBA Lip-sync Song: TBA Challenge Winner: TBA Challenge Prize: TBA
229	6	"Let's Get Sea Sickening Ball"[21]	February 7, 2025 (2025-02-07)
Guest Judge: Hunter Schafer and Law Roach Runway Theme: TBA Lip-sync Song: TBA Challenge Winner: TBA Challenge Prize: TBA

Release

The seventeenth season, and its companion series, is scheduled to premiere through MTV with its first episode on January 3, 2025.^[22] The season will consists of sixteen episodes.^[23]

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of RuPaul's Drag Race season 17

No.	Title	Air date	Rating (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	Ref.
1	"Squirrel Games"	January 3, 2025	0.24	0.671	[24]

Footnotes

1. All ages, names, and cities are stated at time of filming.^[12]
2. Lydia Butthole Kollins is referred to as Lydia B Kollins on the series.^[13]

References

1. Sim, Bernardo (October 30, 2023). "RuPaul's Drag Race now casting season 17 and our heads are spinning". Pride. Here Media. Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
2. Morey, Alice (March 11, 2024). "Did RuPaul just cast the first queen for season 17 of Drag Race?". Gay Times. Archived from the original on June 16, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
3. Tinoco, Armando (August 16, 2024). "RuPaul's Drag Race renewed for season 17 at MTV; Paramount+ picks up RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars for season 10". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on September 5, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
4. Duncan, Charlie (August 21, 2024). "RuPaul's Drag Race fans are convinced they've just had a sneak peek at season 17". PinkNews. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
5. Yee, Lawrence (August 22, 2024). "RuPaul's Drag Race: 5 surprising things we learned from our set visit". People. Dotdash Meredith. Archived from the original on September 11, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
6. Meg Sutton (August 22, 2024). Touring the 'RuPaul's Drag Race' set with Nymphia Wind (video). Architectural Digest. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on September 26, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
7. Wratten, Marcus (November 22, 2024). "RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 gets first teaser and release window". PinkNews. Archived from the original on November 23, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
8. Sim, Bernardo (December 4, 2024). "Sink or swim! Meet the queens of RuPaul's Drag Race season 17". Out. Archived from the original on December 7, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
9. Tangcay, Jazz (December 11, 2024). "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars winner Monét X Change set to host The Pit Stop". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
10. Montgomery, Braedon (December 29, 2024). "Season 17 of RuPaul's Drag Race brings back an iconic twist". Forbes. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
11. Nolfi, Joey (December 12, 2024). "RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 twist revealed as hilarious Michelle Visage dunk tank with immunity powers". Entertainment Weekly. Dotdash Meredith. Archived from the original on December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
12. Nolfi, Joey (December 4, 2024). "RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 cast revealed as Rate-a-Queen returns with a major twist: 'The game is new'". Entertainment Weekly. Dotdash Meredith. Archived from the original on December 5, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
13. Vary, Adam; Tangcay, Jazz (December 4, 2024). "RuPaul's Drag Race announces season 17 cast, updated 'Rate-a-Queen' twist". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on December 4, 2024. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
14. "Squirrel Games". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 17. Episode 1. January 3, 2025. MTV / WOW Presents Plus.
15. "Drag Queens Got Talent". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 17. Episode 2. January 3, 2025. MTV / WOW Presents Plus.
16. Henderson, Taylor (December 12, 2024). "Meet the celebrity guest judges of Drag Race season 17". Out. Archived from the original on December 12, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
17. "Drag Queens Got Talent". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
18. "Monopulence!". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
19. "Bitch, I'm a Drag Queen!". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
20. "RuPaul's Drag Race – Season 17, Episode 5". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
21. "RuPaul's Drag Race – Season 17, Episode 6". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
22. Hall, Gerrad (December 30, 2024). "What to watch this week: A new season of RuPaul's Drag Race, Nikki Glaser hosts (and roasts) the Golden Globes". Entertainment Weekly. Dotdash Meredith. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
23. Cross, Greta (January 2, 2025). "RuPaul's Drag Race season 17: Premiere date, time, streaming and cast members". USA Today. Gannett. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
24. Pucci, Douglas (January 6, 2025). "Friday Ratings: RuPaul's Drag Race on MTV premieres its 17th season". Programming Insider. Retrieved January 7, 2025.