Drag Race season 17 trailer confirms Katy Perry, Hunter Schafer as guest judges

The first sickening trailer for RuPaul’s Drag Race season 17 has teased some iconic guest judges, a healthy dose of drama and a splashy new twist.

14 new queens are set to stomp the runway in the 17th(!) season of RuPaul’s Drag Race – and the first official trailer for the show has given fans a sneak peek at the new cast making a dazzling array of guest judges say, “H-2-Ohmygod!”

With the recently ru-vealed cohort featuring several drag family members of past contestants like Plane Jane, Trinity the Tuck and Luxx Noir London, the season is sure to make a splash – something that the trailer hints at, big time.

Acacia Forgot, Arrietty, Crystal Envy, Hormona Lisa, Jewels Sparkles, Joella, Kori King, Lana Ja’Rae, Lexi Love, Lucky Starzzz, Lydia Kollins, Onya Nurve, Sam Star and Suzie Toot are all battling for the crown – but as seen in the trailer, there’s a twist.

“If you dunk Michelle,” Ru tells the assembled queens, “You badonka-dunk your way back into the competition.”

The clip features Visage sat on a large ‘dunk tank’ and Lana Ja’Rae asking, very fairly, “What is a badonka-dunk?”

The twist seems to be a ‘saving grace’ mechanic, similar to season 14’s golden chocolate bar and season 16’s immunity potions – and that should a queen fail to impress in both challenge, runway and lipsync, she has one more chance to return.

The trailer features the return of season 16’s ‘Rate-a-Queen’ twist, which saw the competitors rank each other’s performances on the premiere episode to determine the placements that week – though there’s obviously another unknown twist this time.

The guest judges for the season are revealed as well, and baby, she’s got budget.

Katy Perry, Sam Smith, Quinta Brunson, Doechii and Adam Lambert are all set to make an appearance as well as season 16 fan favourite judge Law Roach and Hunger Games icon Hunter Schafer.

Sandra Bernhard, Betsey Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Paul W. Downs, Whitney Cummings, Jerrod Carmichael, June Diane Raphael and Julia Schlaepfe will all appear as well.

And, because it’s Drag Race, we’ve got drama too. In what appears to be the premiere episode (or second premiere), one queen says to another, “Oh, you think I was the worst?” to which another replies, “Well…”

A classic!

RuPaul’s Drag Race season 17 will premiere on WOW Presents Plus and MTV on 3 January, 2025.