AJ and the Queen Season 1 Review: Story Doesn’t Sparkle Quite Like RuPaul’s Gowns

Please note: This review may include some minor spoilers for the first season of AJ and the Queen.

When Netflix announced that they had teamed up with legend, RuPaul, for a new series AJ and the Queen and that RuPaul was bringing some famous Drag Race alum along for the ride, I, like so many, responded with a triumphant “YAAS QUEEN.”

So how did your favorite queens — plus a spunky kid — fare? The library is open.

RuPaul can be credited with helping bring the subculture of drag to the mainstream. Drag Race has made numerous drag performers stars (or at the very least, modestly successful music video stars and social media influencers).

Above all, it has showcased the humanity of the performers as well as made a case for how drag is both an art form and an exercise in campy fun.

AJ and the Queen feels like it’s missing all of that; it tries to be poignant but often feels miscalculated and while it has its moments, it’s neither artistically sophisticated nor deliciously campy.

Quite frankly, it doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be. Is it a road trip romp? A cat-and-mouse caper? A rumination on an intergenerational friendship? A celebration of drag and the human spirit?

Honestly, the only thing I’m sure of is that it’s a great vehicle to celebrate Oprah, whose sage advice is referenced on more than one occasion. 

The tone is completely uneven and the show’s pacing doesn’t help matters. It meanders for 10 episodes, all of which run far too long (a zippier 30 minute edit may have helped).

We’ll get to AJ and the titular queen in a moment, but for now, let’s zoom out on some of the other characters/performances surrounding them.

As promised, the show features almost two dozen Drag Race alums, though sadly, none appear in the personas for which they are most famous, instead playing original characters.

As a drag fan, it’s a delight to see so many familiar faces, but a crushing disappointment not to see them do what they do best.

Many Drag Race acting challenges are painful to watch, so this show is basically that amplified. That’s not to say there aren’t any bright points.

Chad Michaels’ brief performance of “Waterloo,” on AJ and the Queen Season 1 Episode 4 “Louisville, ” Latrice Royale’s duet with RuPaul on Episode 7 “Jackson” and Trinity the Tuck’s turn as a vapid beauty queen on Episode 10 “Dallas” are the most successful cameos.

Tia Carrere and Josh Segarra as the antagonists for the series, are stuck in the least successful, inane, and illogical plot line.

Carrere comes off like a less funny Michelle Visage (but with an eyepatch!) and Segarra’s character is poorly developed.

His conflicted feelings about being a conman who also loves his most recent victim, RuPaul’s character, Robert, don’t quite make sense within the weakly written story, and Segarra’s not able to rise above the material to connect the dots either. 

Michael Leon-Wooley as Robert’s roommate and friend, Louis (aka Cocoa Butter) fares much better, though the show inexplicably makes him announce that he’s blind over and over at the start of the series (as an aside, even though I love Wooley’s performance, it does beg the question whether an actual blind actor could have been cast in this role).

That aside, he runs away with the show, delivering the funniest lines and brightening up the proceedings whenever he’s there. Honestly, the show feels like it would have been way more enjoyable if he was RuPaul’s sidekick, not AJ.

But alas, while he isn’t given as much screen time as he should have been, he does get one of the best — if not the best — showcases when he sings “Unspeakable Joy” on AJ and the Queen Season 1 Episode 10 “Dallas.”

However, the show isn’t called Louis the Queen, it’s called AJ and the Queen and there, the quality of the show rises and falls.

When RuPaul is in drag as Ruby Red, he’s simply captivating.

The drag performances themselves are not necessarily the most creative, especially because we’ve now become spoiled and more aware of drag’s possibilities, but there’s no denying that RuPaul has a special kind of charisma and magic in these moments. No tea, no shade: the lip syncing is stunning, the lewks are gorgeous.

It’s when RuPaul has to step out of his drag persona and play Robert that his weaknesses become more apparent.

While his performance on AJ and the Queen Season 1 Episode 6, “Little Rock” is probably his most all-around successful, particularly the flashbacks with former paramour Hector/Damian (John Segarra), he struggles with hitting all the emotional beats; he often comes off flat or insincere.

Izzy G. as troubled AJ doesn’t fare much better. However, it’s hard to tell if it’s her performance that’s the problem or if it’s that AJ is so shoddily written and irritating. After a brief period as a stowaway on Robert’s RV, I was already hoping he’d throw AJ out.

I understand that AJ is broken and acting out, but it’s hard to not feel exasperated by them or understand all of their choices.

With that said, I respect what AJ and the Queen is trying to do; it’s trying to take down a myriad of stigmas — about drag queens, sex workers, drug addicts — and celebrate the queer community.

There are some obvious parallels between Robert and AJ (neither feels totally comfortable in their regular day-to-day identity, both are in search of new lives and a new community/family after feeling rejected by the people they love).

Their emotional connection is supposed to be born out of struggle, pain, and ultimately deep understanding and recognition.

However, just because I can see some of what the show wants to be doesn’t mean it’s a good show. It needs to decide what it is, whether that be buddy comedy, pure camp, or family dramedy.

Right now, it’s trying to be everything and the product is a show whose seams don’t quite match up.

What did you think of AJ and the Queen? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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AJ and the Queen is currently streaming on Netflix.

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