You know the drill by now, Judies — one Werk Room, 14 fabulous queens, a lot of lip syncing and a shared quest to be crowned 'America's Next Drag Superstar'. It can only be RuPaul's Drag Race, with season 16 of its US iteration getting underway on Friday, January 5.
You can watch RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 in the US on MTV and without cable via various OTT streaming services. But don't worry if you're on holiday while it's on, because you can watch RuPaul's Drag Race from anywhere with a VPN.
US: MTV (via Sling/FuboTV)
UK: Wow Presents Plus
AU: Stan
How to use a VPN to watch any stream
For Drag Race devotees, the format is very familiar by now. But for anybody new to Ru (where have you been!), prepare to join the RuVolution...
14 bold new queens are breaking through the noise to split, trick, drop and lip sync for their lives in an attempt to impress the cavalcade of gorgeous judges and avoid those three fateful words: "now sashay away".
There'll be more gags, feels, looks, stars and twists than you can shake a wig at. And, for the first time in Drag Race herstory, a brand new Rate-A-Queen element where the participants have the chance to have an affect on who survives and who is eliminated by ranking each other's performances.
Start your engines, ladies! Here's how to watch RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 from anywhere in the world. We've got all the information you'll need below, together with a full list of this year's competitors and confirmed guest judges.
How to watch RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 in the US
MTV has been the home of RuPaul's Drag Race since last year, and season 16 will be shown there again this year.
The RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 premiere is at 8/7c on Friday, January 5, with episodes going out at the same day and time every week.
Most cable packages carry MTV, but so do most OTT live TV streaming services for cord cutters. You can access MTV through Sling TV, for example. Plans start at $40 per month (with your first month half-price) and then you'll need the Entertainment Extra add-on for just another $6 per month.
FuboTV is a more expensive (starting at $74.99 per month) but much more comprehensive service, offering MTV and over 150 other channels even on its most basic plan. Plus, there's a 7-day free trial.
How to watch RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 in the UK
UK-based RuPaul fans can watch the US version of Drag Race using Wow Presents Plus. Episodes will drop on Saturdays at 2.30 am UK, with the season premiere on Saturday, January 6.
Episode 1 will be available to stream for free on the platform. After that, a subscription to Wow Presents Plus will cost you £4.33 a month or £43.38 annually. And note that right now you can use offer code RDRUK to bag you a 20% discount off your first month.
A subscription will get you access to season 16 and back catalog, together with loads more Drag Race iterations from around the globe.
You can watch Wow Presents Plus on loads of devices, including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, iOS and Android devices, Xbox One consoles and select Samsung smart TVs.
How to watch RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 in Australia
The Stan streaming service is once again the place to watch the US version of RuPaul's Drag Race if you're Down Under. Season 16 starts streaming there on Saturday, January 5 with weekly episodes thereafter.
Stan plans start from $10 a month for its most basic plan, but you can give it a try with the service's 30-day free trial.
How to watch RuPaul's Drag Race from anywhere with a VPN
You can watch RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 on any of the streaming services above by using a VPN – no matter where you are in the world!
Normally a streaming service will know where you are trying to tune in from and block you if you're not in the right country but a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is an app that hides your location. That means you can access your usual sports and entertainment services even while you're traveling abroad.
Our favorite VPN is ExpressVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar, where you'll find a deeper reader on the best VPN services available right now.
How to use a VPN to watch any stream
- Download the app at ExpressVPN
- Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch (UK, US, etc)
- Navigate to the streaming service and start watching!
What is the RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 release date?
RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 hits US screens on Friday, January 5, 2024.
In the UK and Australia, the season premiere will be available to stream from Saturday, January 6.
All you need to know about RuPaul's Drag Race season 16
Is there a RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 trailer?
The RuPaul's Drag Race trailer gives a taste of what's to come in season 16:
Who are the contestants on RuPaul's Drag Race season 16?
There are 14 queens in all looking to come through to be crowned the US’s next Drag Race superstar:
- Amanda Tori Meating, 26, Los Angeles
- Dawn, 24, New York City
- Geneva Karr, 30, Brownsville, Texas
- Hershii LiqCour-Jeté, 31, Los Angeles
- Megami 33, New York City
- Mhi'ya Iman LePaige, 34, Miami
- Mirage, 29, Las Vegas
- Morphine Love Dion, 25, Miami
- Nymphia Wind, 27, New York City
- Plane Jane, 24, Boston
- Plasma, 24, New York City
- Q, 26, Kansas City
- Sapphira Cristál, 34, Philadelphia
- Xunami Muse, 33, New York City
Who are the judges on RuPaul's Drag Race season 16?
Along with the 'Queen of Drag' RuPaul himself, it's the usual cast of regular judges for season 16 — so that's Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley, Ross Mathews and Ts Madison.
As ever, there will also be a variety of celebrity guest judges over the course of the series, with the following all confirmed to appear during season 16:
- Charlize Theron
- Becky G
- Isaac Mizrahi
- Sarah Michelle Gellar
- Adam Shankman
- Icona Pop
- Jamal Sims
- Joel Kim Booster
- Kelsea Ballerini
- Kyra Sedgwick
- Law Roach
- Kaia Gerber
- Ronan Farrow
- Mayan Lopez
What is RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked?
Untucked is the companion show to RuPaul's Drag Race in the US, which goes "behind the scenes with this season's queens for all the drama, shade and laughter you didn't see on the runway as the queens anxiously await their fates on this beloved backstage series".
For season 16, Untucked goes out on MTV directly after each episode of Drag Race.
