The queens of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17 are ready to show the world what they can do in a season that starts with huge twists.

Blavity/Shadow and Act managing editor Trey Mangum spoke to the cast: Acacia Forgot, Arrietty, Crystal Envy, Hormona Lisa, Jewels Sparkles, Joella, Kori King, Lana Ja’Rae, Lexi Love, Lydia B Kollins, Onya Nurve, Sam Star, and Suzie Toot — about the upcoming season, what they are excited for and what to expect (Lucky Starzzz was not present for this interview but joined us for a later cast interview the next week).

Toot said that the season begins “in a crazy way.”

“It’s funny because you think you know what to expect, and you’re preparing for the show and you’re preparing for what it feels like but every season is different and our season starts in a crazy way,” she said. “It feels completely surreal. You’re like…not only am I on Drag Race, I’m on Season 17 of Drag Race, which is f*****g nuts.”

Toot, a theatrical queen who gives shades of Betty Boop and performers from the 1920s and 1930s, said that she knew going into the show that she had to fight against stereotypes the series has established about how theater queens perform.

“There’s definitely an idea of what a theater queen is supposed to on the show [or] a vintage queen, there’s precedent. I was aware of and anxious about falling into those traps,” she said. “The only thing I was telling myself the entire time is I know what I can do, I know the talent that I have, I know the career I’ve built up to getting on Drag Race and that speaks for itself. It was hard, but I was conscious about putting away those preconceived ideas because nobody’s seen Suzie Toot.”

Lana Ja’Rae also had her own personal challenge going into the season. As the only New York City queen this season and a queen with a huge social media presence, Ja’Rae said she was concerned about the focus and pressure there would be on her.

“I feel like going into the competition, I was praying there’d be more New York queens because there’s always like 12 of us on the show. So when I realized all the queens were in the werkroom, I gagged because I realized I was the only one,” she said. “There was a lot of pressure, because there’s a lot of talented queens in New York City, and to realize I was the one chosen out of all of the talented girls made me realize that I have to really step up to the plate. Mixing in the social media stress and pressure from all the people who support me online, I was under a lot of pressure because I didn’t want to let anyone down…but I think everyone’s going to be really happy and that’s all that matters.”

Onya Nurve was also repping her city in a big way. Nurve lives and works in Cleveland, which hasn’t had any drag representation on Drag Race since Akasha’s time on Season 1. She said that she’s honored to put the city on her back this season.

“It’s a big deal. I’m a huge fan of the show so I know Akashia from RuPaul’s Drag Race first and from the community after. It was pretty gaggy meeting her and becoming a friend to her,” she said. “It’ll be four years next year of doing drag and it is an honor, honestly. I feel like the aunty of Cleveland, the mother of Cleveland, and it’s nice to have that weight on my shoulders because I wouldn’t want any other girl to have it.”

Lexi Love said that was still “in shock” from getting cast for the season. She said she can’t wait to watch the season so she can remember what actually happened.

“I don’t remember any of it at all. It’s is a blur,” she said. “…It’s so…surreal that I’m still in heaven. It’s like a blissful blur to me.”

She also talked about how being among the queens helped her feel at home really quickly.

“I was able to do so because of my amazing cast of 13 sisters. They were the ones that kept me real and to my authentic true self every second of the way,” she said. “I felt like no matter what, I was being reminded of real people in my real life, and I kind of associated really quickly off, so it was really easy for me to open up.”

Watch the video above for the interviews with the full cast of queens.

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17 debuts Jan. 3 at 8/7c on MTV.

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