How to Watch RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 18 Live for Free to See Which Queen Stays & Sashays Away

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It’s time lip sync for your life. To ring in the New Year, RuPaul’s Drag Race is back for its 18th season, and who will be crowned America’s next drag superstar?

And if 2026 weren’t juicy enough, we might be locked in to see another courtship on the main stage. “Um, all I’ll say is I did see Vita [VonTesse Starr]’s hand disappear into Athena [Dion],” admits Juicy Love Dion to Entertainment Weekly. These Season 18 contestants have borne witness to the blooming showmance. “The most likely to kai kai after the show, during the show, before the show, currently now,” DD says. “They are in love, they are in lust, and I can’t wait to meet their babies.”

How to Watch RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 18 at a Glance

RuPaul’s Drag Race airs exclusively on MTV and streams the next day on Paramount+. This season brings all your favorite judges and celebrity guest judges like Teyana Taylor, Cardi B, Dove Cameron, and more. The new cast members also promise that it’s close to the show’s original roots. “I love this season. I think it’s kind of back to basics. It feels like a traditional season,” Myki Meeks says

How to Watch RuPaul’s Drag Race on MTV

RuPaul’s Drag Race airs on MTV every Friday on MTV at 8 p.m. local time. Here are all the options to watch it live, or if you want to binge the season all in one go.

DirecTV Stream delivers CBS across all its packages with a five-day free trial, making it perfect for tonight’s celebration. Plans start at $89.99 per month after the trial period ends. Fubo offers a seven-day free trial with CBS included in its Pro package for $79.99 monthly. Hulu + Live TV also provides access to CBS at $89.99 per month and includes Disney+, Hulu’s on-demand library, and ESPN Plus in one convenient bundle. For viewers who want access to CBS’s entire library alongside live programming, Paramount+ Premium offers the livestream plus every episode of every iteration of RuPaul’s Drag Race (yes, including All Stars) at $12.99 per month after the trial period. Check out the full details on your streaming options for RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Best Overall & EDITOR’S PICK

Watch New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash with DirecTV Stream

– Free trial: 5 days
– Includes local networks and 90+ channels

DirecTV Stream offers a five-day free trial and four plans—Entertainment, Choice, Ultimate, and Premier—all of which include MTV. Entertainment comes with over 90 channels and costs $89.99 per month (currently $49.99 for your first month); Choice, which comes with over 125 channels and costs $94.99 per month (currently $59.99 for your first month); Ultimate, which comes with over 160 channels and costs $124.99 per month (currently $89.99 for your first month); and Premier, which comes with over 185 channels and costs $169.99 per month (currently $124.99 per month).

We tested every streaming service offering a free trial in 2025, and DirecTV came out on top as our editor’s pick. With its free trial and massive selection of channels and local networks, it’s a great choice for watching RuPaul’s Drag Race on MTV.

Best Flexible Pick

Watch RuPaul’s Drag Race with Fubo

– Free trial: Up to 5 days
– Includes local networks and 200+ channels

Fubo is a more flexible option for watching RuPaul’s Drag Race, with MTV included in its Sports, Pro, and Elite plans. The service provides four tiers: Sports + News with 29 channels at $55 per month (currently $45.99 for the first month), Pro with 214 channels at $77.99 per month (currently $48.99 for the first month), Elite with 278 channels at $93.99 per month (currently $53.99 for your first month), and Latino with 55 channels at $14.99 per month (currently $9.99 for the first month). New subscribers can take advantage of Fubo’s one-day free trial to watch the broadcast (five days for the Latino plan).

Best BUDGET Pick

Watch RuPaul’s Drag Race with Paramount+ Premium

– Free trial: 7 days
– Live CBS stream plus SHOWTIME library and 40,000+ episodes

Paramount Plus Premium offers direct access to stream CBS to watch RuPaul’s Drag Race. And if you missed it airing live, you can stream the episode the next day and every Drag Race episode in existence. Priced at $12.99 per month, this plan includes your local CBS station’s livestream, plus the entire SHOWTIME library with acclaimed series and specials. You’ll enjoy most content ad-free (live TV still has ads), can download shows and movies for offline viewing, and stream in 4K UHD with Dolby Vision on select titles. New subscribers can try the service with a one-week free trial, making it easy to catch tonight’s celebration while exploring over 40,000 episodes and movies from CBS, Paramount, and SHOWTIME.

Best Bundle Pick

Watch RuPaul’s Drag Race with Hulu + Live TV

– Free trial: 3 days
– Large library of shows, movies, and Hulu Originals

Hulu + Live TV offers four plans. The cheapest plan, Live TV Only, costs $81.99 per month and comes with access to Hulu’s live TV content. The next cheapest plan costs $1 more at $82.99 per month and comes with Hulu’s live TV content, as well as access to Hulu’s streaming library with ads, Disney+ with ads, and ESPN+ with ads. For Disney+ with no ads, users can subscribe for $87.99 per month. And for Hulu and Disney+ with no ads, the price is $95.99 per month. Viewers can stream CBS to watch RuPaul’s Drag Race and can access more with Hulu + Live TV plans.

Who are the RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 18 contestants?

• Athena Dion, 38, Miami, Florida
• Briar Blush, 25, Boston, Massachusetts
• Ciara Myst, 32, Indianapolis, Indiana
• Darlene Mitchell, 34, Los Angeles, California
• DD Fuego, 37, New York City, New York
• Discord Addams, 35, St. Petersburg, Florida
• Jane Don’t ,32, Seattle, Washington
• Juicy Love Dion, 24, Miami, Florida
• Kenya Pleaser, 27, Sumter, South Carolina
• Mandy Mango, 29, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Mia Starr, 39, West Palm Beach, Florida
• Myki Meeks, 29, Orlando, Florida
• Nini Coco, 29, Denver, Colorado
• Vita VonTesse Starr, 38, Montgomery, Alabama

Who are the RuPaul’s Drag Race guest judges?

Judging on the main stage are the following:

• Teyana Taylor
• Benny Blanco
• Dove Cameron
• Cardi B
• Zara Larsson
• Brooke Shields
• Iman
• Atsuko Okatsuka
• Jamal Sims
• Amy Taylor
• Annaleigh Ashford
• Danielle Pinnock
• Julianne Nicholson
• Sarah Sherman
• Leland