RuPaul’s Drag Race season 17 teases wild Squid Game challenge in premiere episode: ‘Absolute comedy gold’

Jan 03
Written by Marcus Wratten

The queens of Drag Race season 17 must avoid the murderous Lil’ Poundcake in the first Squid Game-inspired challenge. (YouTube/World of Wonder)

Just between us squirrel friends: the first ten minutes of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 17 is here, and it’s a messy, murderous ride.

RuPaul is back with the seventeenth (!) season of her OG Drag Race franchise, and this year, things are kicking off with a bang – to the head.

Unlike previous seasons, this year’s batch of 14 drag divas begin the season by being transported via van to an unknown location, to enjoy a swift round of “Squirrel Games”.

Based, of course, on Netflix’s hit survival thriller Squid Game, “Squirrel Games” sees the new queens (and some much-loved alumni) begin a round of “Ru Light, Green Light”, where they must sashay across a room to RuPaul’s song “Adrenaline” and freeze when the music cuts out.

This is Drag Race, where everything is joyously stupid, and so the deadly doll keeping watch over “Ru Light, Green Light” isn’t Squid Game’s Young-Hee, but season five superstar Lil’ Poundcake.

The queens must avoid being clocked by the angry little princess doll, or face being smacked in the face with a cream pie.

A host of Drag Race favourites including winners Angeria Paris VanMichaels, Trinity The Tuck and Kylie Sonique Love, plus fan favourites Jaymes Mansfield and Kerri Colby, end up getting pied and eliminated from the game.

Fittingly it was season one’s first eliminee, Victoria PorkChop Parker, who ended up as the game’s Pork Chop by getting hit with a pie first. Can we call that a Pork Pie?

Ultimately, it was this season’s set of queens who made it all the way to the end without getting a pie to the face, meaning they could enter the real competition: season 17.

The rest of the ten minute teaser saw the first six of the cast – Arrietty, Jewels Sparkles, Joella, Kori King, Lexi Love, and Lydia B Kollins – enter the Werk Room as per usual.

Online, the Drag Race fandom has been awash with memes in response to the instantly-iconic “Squirrel Games”, with one dubbing it “absolute comedy gold”.

rupaul’s drag race doing its own version of squid game is absolutely HILARIOUS lmaooooo pic.twitter.com/ONKnd4DKeC
— ray ✨ (@mascarayde) January 2, 2025

a one hour loop of victoria porkchop parker's squirrel games light going out pic.twitter.com/Uxs3AgII9S
— ChaCha Wigs Fulfilment Center (@JahnZilch) January 3, 2025

“OH RUPAUL SAID HE’S GETTING HIS EMMY BACK,” wrote another fan, referring to the reality competition not winning any of the ten awards it was nominated for at the 2024 Primetime Emmy Awards.

“Those were hands down my favorite first four minutes of any episode of Drag Race ever,” chimed in a third, while a fourth simply commented: “I’m so ready for this season.”