''AJ and the Queen'' is an American comedy-drama series, created by

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series '' RuPaul's Drag Race ...

and Michael Patrick King. It premiered on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

on January 10, 2020. It was cancelled after one season in March that same year.

Premise

''AJ and the Queen'' follows "Ruby Red, a bigger-than-life but down-on-her-luck drag queen who travels across America from club to club in a rundown 1986 R/V with her unlikely sidekick AJ, a recently orphaned, tough-talking, scrappy ten-year-old stowaway. As the two misfits travel from city to city, Ruby's message of love and acceptance winds up touching people and changing their lives for the better."

Cast and characters

Main

RuPaul Charles RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...

as Robert Lincoln Lee/Ruby Red *

Izzy G. Isabella Gaspersz (born August 5, 2008), known professionally as Izzy G, is an American actress known for her work on ''AJ and the Queen'' and ''B Positive''. Early life and career Gaspersz is the daughter of actress Sabrina Gennarino and dire ...

as Amber Jasmine "AJ" Douglas *

Michael-Leon Wooley Michael-Leon Wooley (born March 29, 1971) is an American actor. Wooley was the voice of Louis the Alligator in Disney's Oscar-nominated animated feature film, ''The Princess and the Frog'' and played Judge Grady on the radio station WKTT in Ro ...

as Louis Bell/Cocoa Butter * Josh Segarra as Hector Ramirez/Damien Sanchez * Katerina Tannenbaum as Brianna Douglas, AJ's mother *

Tia Carrere Althea Rae Duhinio Janairo (born January 2, 1967), known professionally as Tia Carrere (), is an American actress, singer and former model who got her first big break as a regular on the daytime soap opera '' General Hospital''. Carrere played C ...

as Leilani Kala'i/Lady Danger

Recurring

Matthew Wilkas Matthew Wilkas (born April 20, 1978) is an American New York based theatre and film actor, playwright and reality television personality. He is best known for his lead role as Matt in the 2012 feature film '' Gayby''. Early life He grew up in C ...

as Officer Patrick Kennedy

Guest

* Victoria "Porkchop" Parker as Himself * Jinkx Monsoon as Edie * Katya Zamolodchikova as Magda *

Mario Cantone Mario Cantone (born December 9, 1959) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and singer with numerous appearances on Comedy Central including '' Chappelle's Show''. He also played Anthony Marentino in '' Sex and the City'' and Terri in ''Men In ...

as Alma Joy * Marc Singer as Bob * Adrienne Barbeau as Helen *

Michael Cyril Creighton Michael Cyril Creighton is an American actor and writer best known for his portrayal of Howard Morris in ''Only Murders in the Building'', Patrick in '' High Maintenance'', Joe Crowley in '' Spotlight'' and his Writers Guild of America Award-win ...

as Christian *

Chad Michaels Chad Michael Storbeck, known professionally as Chad Michaels (born March 20, 1971), is an American drag performer and professional Cher impersonator. He was the runner-up of the fourth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', alongside Phi Phi O'Hara, ...

as Brian Gerrity * Tim Bagley as Lloyd Johnson *

Laura Bell Bundy Laura Ashley Bell Bundy (born April 10, 1981) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for originating the Broadway roles of Amber Von Tussle in the musical version of '' Hairspray and'' Elle Woods in the musical version of ''Legall ...

as Bernadette Anderson * Bridget Everett as Anna * Natasha Leggero as Kath * Jimmy Ray Bennett as Kevin * Latrice Royale as Fabergé Legs *

Monique Heart Mo Heart, previously Monique Heart, is the stage name of Kevin Richardson (born May 22, 1986), an American drag queen, reality television personality, and recording artist best known for competing on the tenth season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race'' ( ...

as Miss Terri Tory * Kevin Daniels as Darrell * John Rubinstein as Doctor * Mary Kay Place as Carolanne * Jane Krakowski as Beth Barnes Beagle * Ginger Minj as Tommy/Fanny Pack *

Trinity The Tuck Ryan A. Taylor, known professionally as Trinity "The Tuck" Taylor or just Trinity the Tuck (born December 10, 1985),Taylor in is an American drag queen and recording artist best known for competing on the ninth season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race' ...

as Danielle Dupri *

Jujubee Jujube (), sometimes jujuba, known by the scientific name ''Ziziphus jujuba'' and also called red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube, is a species in the genus '' Ziziphus'' in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. Description It is a smal ...

as Lee Saint Lee * Patrick Bristow as Kevin Prescott *

Lorraine Bracco Lorraine Bracco (born October 2, 1954) is an American actress. Known for her distinct husky voice and Brooklyn accent, she has been nominated for an Academy Award, four Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards ...

as herself Additionally, former ''

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 ...

'' contestants Mayhem Miller, Valentina, Eureka O'Hara, Bianca Del Rio,

Alexis Mateo Alexis Mateo Pacheco (born July 24, 1979), best known as Alexis Mateo, is a Puerto Rican drag queen, performer, reality television personality, fashion designer, and the winner of All American Goddess 2016, Miss Gay Days 2016 and National Show ...

, Manila Luzon,

Vanessa Vanjie Mateo Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, sometimes known as Miss Vanjie or simply Vanjie, is the stage name of José Cancel, an American drag performer known for competing on the tenth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and placing fifth on the eleventh season of ...

, Jaymes Mansfield,

Ongina Ongina is the stage name of Ryan Ong Palao (born January 6, 1982), a Filipino-American drag performer and HIV activist who came to international attention on the first season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and the fifth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Rac ...

, Kennedy Davenport, Mariah Balenciaga, Dahlia Sin,

Jade Jolie Jade Jolie is the stage name of Joshua Green, (born November 2, 1986) an American drag queen and Taylor Swift impersonator known for competing in the fifth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and the fourth season of ''The Boulet Brothers' Dragula ...

, Morgan McMichaels and

Pandora Boxx Michael R. Steck (born May 2, 1972), better known by the stage name Pandora Boxx, is an American drag queen, comedian, and reality television personality from Rochester, New York. Boxx competed in the second season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', pl ...

make cameos, appearing as unnamed queens.

Production

In May 2018, it was announced that

had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes, with RuPaul starring. The series is created, written, and executive produced by RuPaul and Michael Patrick King. MPK Productions and

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

are involved in producing the series. In July 2018, a casting breakdown released to talent agencies was published online. It revealed the names of four new characters, Louis, Hector/Damian Sanchez, Lady Danger, and Brianna, and included character descriptions as well. In September 2018, it was announced that Josh Segarra,

, Katerina Tannenbaum, and

had been cast in starring roles. On October 16, 2018, it was reported that Izzy G. had been cast in the lead role of the titular AJ. In January 2019, it was announced that

had joined the cast in a recurring capacity. On March 6, 2020, Netflix announced that the series had been cancelled after one season.

Episodes

Soundtrack

On January 24, 2020 a 16 track soundtrack album titled ''AJ and the Queen (Official Television Soundtrack)'' was released by

Warner Bros. Entertainment Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

. It was created by Lior Rosner and RuPaul.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the series holds an approval rating of 52% based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 5.39/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Though it doesn't always come together, ''AJ and the Queen'' is a sweet, sometimes off-the wall adventure that's fun to watch even when it's fumbling." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the series has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

References

External links

* * {{Netflix original ended series (2019–present) 2020s American LGBT-related comedy television series 2020s American LGBT-related drama television series 2020 American television series debuts 2020 American television series endings English-language Netflix original programming Gay-related television shows Works by RuPaul Television series created by Michael Patrick King Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Drag (clothing) television shows