''Call Me Mother'' is a Canadian reality television series, which premiered on

OutTV OutTV (stylized OUTtv) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language specialty channel that was launched in September 2001. It broadcasts general entertainment and lifestyle programming aimed at the LGBT community. The network is owned b ...

in 2021. Hosted by ''

Entertainment Tonight Canada ''ET Canada'' (previously referred to as ''Entertainment Tonight Canada'') is a Canadian entertainment news television series, using the same format as the American entertainment newsmagazine ''Entertainment Tonight''. ''ET Canada'' is a broadcas ...

'' reporter Dallas Dixon, the series is a drag competition which will see up-and-coming drag performers join one of three drag houses to compete in group challenges, with one drag artist eliminated each week until the winner of the competition is crowned the "First Child of Drag".Joey Nolfi
"RuPaul's Drag Race queens Peppermint, Crystal launch new drag competition series Call Me Mother"
''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'', June 3, 2021. The series is distinct from the ''

RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, VH1 (season 9–14) and, beginning with the f ...

'' franchise in adding a

drag mother A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

mentoring and coaching team aspect similar to ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'' or ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'', and is also a fully inclusive competition featuring

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...

drag king Drag kings are mostly female performance artists who dress in masculine drag and personify male gender stereotypes as part of an individual or group routine. A typical drag show may incorporate dancing, acting, stand-up comedy and singing, eit ...

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

and

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

drag artists. The houses are led by established drag queens

Peppermint Peppermint (''Mentha'' × ''piperita'') is a hybrid species of mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world.Euro+Med Plantbas ...

(House of Dulcet),

Crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

(House of Glass) and Barbada de Barbades (House of Harmonie). Ontario drag queen Farra N. Hyte, the drag mother of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' competitor and ''

Canada's Drag Race ''Canada's Drag Race'' is a Canadian reality competition television series based on the American series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and is the Canadian edition of the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by Blue Ant Studios. In a similar format to th ...

'' judge

Brooke Lynn Hytes Brooke Lynn Hytes is the stage name of Brock Edward Hayhoe (born March 10, 1986), a Canadian drag queen, ballet dancer, performer, and television personality. After working as a dancer with Cape Town City Ballet and Les Ballets Trockadero de Mo ...

, and Québec drag queen Miss Butterfly serve as "aunties", who provide additional support and feedback but do not directly "mother" their own teams.Joey Nolfi
"Call Me Mother casts queens, kings, and nonbinary stars in wild new drag competition"
''

'', October 5, 2021. Hyte and Dixon were also the co-hosts of a weekly companion podcast which included post-elimination interviews with the competing artists. Miss Butterfly did not return as an "auntie" for the second season, and was replaced by past ''

Dragula DRAG-U-LA, along with the Munster Koach, was one of two cars on the television show ''The Munsters'' designed by prolific show car designer Tom Daniel while working for George Barris and Barris Kustom Industries. The car The fiberglass body ...

'' winner

Landon Cider Landon Cider (born Kristine Bellaluna) is an American drag king, actor and host. He won season 3 of ''The Boulet Brothers' Dragula'' and was crowned the "World's Next Drag Supermonster". Early life and background Kristine Bellaluna was born an ...

. ''Call Me Mother'' was created by RedFlame TV, and produced in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

by Go Button Media and RedFlame TV. It was shot in North Bay,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

in early 2021. The series premiered with its first season on October 25, 2021. The first season was won by Toddy, a non-binary drag performer from

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. A second season was announced on December 15, set to be released in 2022.Kelly Townsend
"OUTtv renews original drag format Call Me Mother"
'' Playback'', December 15, 2021.

Production

Season 1

Casting occurred in the early months of 2021, with production starting in late spring 2021. The final cast was announced on October 5 2021. The inaugural season consisted of eight episodes.

Season 2

On December 15, two days after the first season finale, OutTV announced the renewal of the series for a second season following the success of the first. Casting for the second season opened on February 16, 2022. The official cast was announced on September 22, 2022 with a premiere date of October 26.

Mothers and other figures

On June 3, 2021, it was announced that

and Barbada would be leading the series as the mothers to the competing drag houses. Dallas Dixon was also announced as the host. It was later revealed that Farra N. Hyte and Miss Butterfly would be joining the series as aunties. When the official cast for season 2 was announced, it was confirmed that Peppermint, Crystal and Barbada would be returning as the mothers for the second season and that Dallas Dixon would be returning as the host. On September 30, 2022, it was revealed that Farra N. Hyte would be returning as an auntie and a judge, and would be joined by

season 3 winner

taking the role of "guncle" and judge.

Series overview

Reception

The series was the highest-rated original production in OutTV's history for Season 1.

References

External links

* {{Drag performance 2020s Canadian LGBT-related television series Drag (clothing) television shows OutTV (Canadian TV channel) original programming Television shows filmed in North Bay, Ontario 2021 Canadian television series debuts 2020s Canadian reality television series 2020s LGBT-related reality television series Canadian LGBT-related reality television series