Racers, start your engines! 2025 brings the 17th season of the Emmy-winning drag competition series “RuPaul’s Drag Race” returns to MTV. Guided by Mother RuPaul, 14 new queens will compete in a series of fashion, acting, comedy, dance, and other technical challenges until one is crowned America’s Next Drag Superstar, and takes home a grand prize of $200,000. May the best drag queen win! Season 17 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” will premiere on Friday, Jan. 3 at 8 p.m. ET with the behind-the-scenes companion show “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked” immediately following. You can watch live with a seven-day free trial to Philo.

How to watch ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 17:

• When: Friday, Jan. 3, 2025 at 8 p.m. ET
• TV: MTV
• Stream: Watch with a seven-day free trial to Philo.
• From anywhere: Watch with a subscription to a VPN.

Everything you need to know to watch ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 17

Watch the trailer for ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 17

Why we recommend Philo to stream ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’

Season 17 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” will only be available on MTV or through a live TV streaming service like Philo until after the full season concludes airing. After that, you’ll be able to watch the full season on Paramount+ on a date to be announced. All six of the major live TV streaming services carry MTV, so you have options in terms of how you want to watch “Drag Race.”

DIRECTV STREAM, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, Philo, and YouTube TV all offer free trials of varying lengths. However, except in a few rare circumstances, Philo’s seven-day free trial is going to be your best option. But even on the off chance that you can get a two-week free trial, that still won’t be enough to watch the entire 17th season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” So, the fact that Philo is by far the cheapest option to stream MTV helps tremendously.

At just $28 per month, Philo is 66% cheaper than almost all of the other streaming options that will give you access to MTV and the full season of “Drag Race.” So, while Philo doesn’t carry all of the other major cable channels — or any of the local and national broadcast networks — when it comes to catching this new crop of queens, there’s no better option.

7-Day Trial

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Philo

Philo is a live TV streaming service designed for entertainment lovers, offering flexible ways to watch without the high price of traditional TV bundles. The service now features two paid plans — Essential and Bundle+ — alongside its existing free streaming offering, giving customers a range of options depending on how much live and premium content they want.

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The Essential plan costs $25 per month and includes 70+ live TV channels focused on entertainment and lifestyle programming, such as AMC, HGTV, Hallmark Channel, Nickelodeon, and Food Network. Subscribers also get access to 120+ free streaming channels, more than 80,000 movies and shows on demand, and unlimited DVR with one-year storage. Essential also includes a 7-day free trial for new customers.

For viewers who want more premium content, Philo offers the Bundle+ plan for $33 per month (formerly the Philo Core plan). Bundle+ includes everything in Essential, plus ad-supported AMC+ and access to the HBO Max (Basic with Ads) app. Users can also access discovery+ content directly within the Philo app. While Bundle+ adds a full premium streaming bundle for just $8 more per month, it does not include a free trial.

The service is available on most major devices, including Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, smart TVs, mobile devices, and web browsers. In addition to its paid plans, Philo also offers a free ad-supported streaming experience, allowing users to explore content before deciding whether to upgrade to a live TV subscription.

While it doesn’t include local broadcast stations or sports networks like ESPN, FS1 or NBC Sports Network, Philo remains one of the most affordable live TV streaming options for entertainment-focused viewers. With a simple lineup, generous DVR storage, and a clear path from free streaming to live TV and premium bundles, Philo is an appealing choice for cord-cutters who want to keep costs down while still enjoying a wide range of popular programming.

7-Day Trial

$25+ / month

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About ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 17

Heading into its 17th season, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” features a brand-new cast of drag queens vying for the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar. This season, contestants will compete for a cash prize of $200,000.

Joining RuPaul and returning judges panel Michelle Visage, Ross Matthews, Carson Kressley, and Ts Madison will be a star-studded lineup of guest judges including Doechii, Sandra Bernhard, Julia Schlaepfer, Paul W. Downs, Hunter Schafer, Quinta Brunson, Jamal Sims, Law Roach, Adam Lambert, Betsey Johnson, Katy Perry, Whitney Cummings, Sam Smith, Jerrod Carmichael, June Diane Raphael, and Tracee Ellis Ross.

In the premiere episode, the 14 new queens will compete in “Drag Queens Got Talent.” This season will also see the return of the “Rate-A-Queen” scoring system— with an all-new twist. And new to this season will be the Badonka Dunk Tank. Following each lipsync, each eliminated queen will have the chance to receive immunity and save themselves by choosing from 10 levers. If they pick one of the two levers that dunks Michelle, they get to remain in the competition. If not, they will be eliminated.

Immediately after the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” premiere, you’ll also be able to watch “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked,” the Emmy Award-winning aftershow that gives viewers a look at the backstage drama as the queens anxious await their fate in the competition. The new “Untucked” season will premiere at 9:30 ET on MTV.

Who are the queens competing on Season 17 of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’?

What other ‘Drag Race’ series can you stream?

In addition to the upcoming 17th season, Paramount+ currently carries all previous 16 seasons of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” as well as Seasons 9-15 of “Untucked,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars” and “All Stars: Untucked,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular,” and more “Drag Race” properties. A Paramount+ Essential subscription will unlock the streamer’s full library for $8 per month.

If you’re looking for even more “Drag Race” content, subscribe to WOW Presents Plus. The streamer from World of Wonder, the production company behind “Drag Race,” has the franchise’s full collection of international “Drag Races” series, including “Canada’s Drag Race,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race UK,” “Drag Race Down Under,” “Drag Race Thailand,” and many others, as well as franchise spinoff shows and specials. The service’s only plan, which is ad-free, costs just $5 per month.

Sign Up

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Paramount Plus

Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 40,000+ TV show episodes from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., and more. Get free access with a Walmart+ subscription.

Paramount+ includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, Serie A, and NWSL. The service also offers the option to watch your live CBS affiliate. The upgraded ad-free package includes premium movies and shows from Showtime.

Sign Up

$8.99+ / month

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