AJ and the Queen

AJ and the Queen is an American comedy-drama streaming television series, created by RuPaul and Michael Patrick King. It premiered on Netflix on January 10, 2020. It was cancelled in March that same year.

AJ and the Queen
Promotional poster for the series.
GenreComedy-drama[1]
Created by
Starring
ComposerLior Rosner
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producers
  • RuPaul Charles
  • Michael Patrick King
Running time47–59 minutes
Production companies
Release
Original networkNetflix
Original releaseJanuary 10, 2020 (2020-01-10)

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."[2]

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Guest

Additionally, former RuPaul's Drag Race contestants Mayhem Miller, Valentina, Eureka O'Hara, Bianca Del Rio, Alexis Mateo, Manila Luzon, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, Jaymes Mansfield, Ongina, Kennedy Davenport, Mariah Balenciaga, Dahlia Sin, Jade Jolie, Morgan McMichaels and Pandora Boxx make cameos, appearing as unnamed queens.[4]

Production

In May 2018, it was announced that Netflix had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes, with RuPaul starring.[2] The series is created, written, and executive produced by RuPaul and Michael Patrick King. MPK Productions and Warner Bros. Television are involved in producing the series.[2][5][6][7] 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.[8]

In September 2018, it was announced that Josh Segarra, Michael-Leon Wooley, Katerina Tannenbaum, and Tia Carrere had been cast in starring roles.[9] On October 16, 2018, it was reported that Izzy G. had been cast in the lead role of the titular AJ.[10] In January 2019, it was announced that Matthew Wilkas had joined the cast in a recurring capacity.[11]

On March 6, 2020, Netflix announced that the series had been cancelled.[12]

Episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date [13]
1"New York City"Michael Patrick KingRuPaul Charles & Michael Patrick KingJanuary 10, 2020 (2020-01-10)
Ruby is set to retire from touring as a drag queen, by using her $100,000 life savings as initial payment on a downtown New York City drag nightclub. Her credit card is rejected because Damien, her love interest/business partner has apparently scammed her, forcing her to go back on the road. Sneaking aboard Ruby's mini-RV is a neighbor's child, AJ, who has been all but abandoned by her drug-taking prostitute mother; they were evicted so AJ needed a place to sleep.
2"Pittsburgh"Michael Patrick KingRuPaul Charles & Michael Patrick KingJanuary 10, 2020 (2020-01-10)
Ruby and AJ head to Pittsburgh for a show. Ruby finds out AJ is actually a girl, and that AJ is short for Amber Jasmine. AJ's phone gets left behind at a diner on the interstate, but Ruby is on good terms with the waitress, and arranges to pick it up on the way back. Later, Ruby goes through AJ's backpack looking for his own phone and discovers a Jasmine doll. AJ said she doesn't want to be a girl, because nobody bothers boys. Ruby's former boyfriend Damien and his partner in crime find out that Ruby reported the theft, and they follow Ruby and AJ to Pittsburgh. Ruby and AJ take off to Ruby's next gig.
3"Columbus"Bobcat GoldthwaitJhoni MarchinkoJanuary 10, 2020 (2020-01-10)
Ruby and AJ have a minor accident on their way out of the parking lot as they head out to Columbus. A cop pulls them over for a broken tail light and they discover they're still being followed, so they detour on a back road and stop along the way to get the tail light fixed. AJ's mother got arrested and leaves a message on AJ's phone. AJ later calls her back and leaves a message but by that time her mother has lost her phone. Ruby enters a wet T-shirt contest and wins enough money to pay for the RV repairs. At the show in Columbus, Ruby sees Damien in the audience, so her and AJ flee in the RV.
4"Louisville"Adam DavidsonRuPaul Charles & Michael Patrick KingJanuary 10, 2020 (2020-01-10)
AJ's mother wants to call her but has no money to buy a new phone. She finally gets a phone, but AJ doesn't pick up when she calls her. The drag queens at the Louisville club are not happy to see Ruby. Later, Damien phones Ruby with a fake attempt to make it up to her. AJ wants Ruby to put out the word to other queens not to get taken in by Damien, but she refuses, so AJ posts about it on social media. It turns out Damien grifted Ruby's friend Brian and other queens.
5"Mt. Juliet"Michael Patrick KingEric Reyes LooJanuary 10, 2020 (2020-01-10)
Heading towards Nashville, Tennessee Ruby and AJ discuss LGBTQ icons, which leads to finding out legendary dress designer Bob Mackie, known for campy outfits, has a namesake museum in Mt. Juliet—only six hours out of their way.
6"Little Rock"Adam ShankmanStephen SorokaJanuary 10, 2020 (2020-01-10)
AJ And Ruby pull into a Little Rock, Arkansas parking campsite for RVers for a few days' stay, one of the nearby neighbors has a near-identical RV which Ruby mistakenly enters after using the shower. The next day AJ gets busy digging for diamonds in a "diamond" field, while Ruby is befriended by three campsite regulars who want help putting on an informal show of Grease songs. Meanwhile Damien and Lady Danger tracked down Ruby and try to kill her by planting a rattlesnake in the RV, which she escapes. On show day, Ruby plans to surprise the campsite regulars with AJ (as Grease's Sandy), and her counterpart Brick, a neighbor boy, dressed as Danny, to jump into the "Born to Hand Jive"/"You're the One That I Want" performance. But Brick had the idea to switch roles with AJ, upsetting his dad at the cross-dressing.
7"Jackson"Anne FletcherDrew DroegeJanuary 10, 2020 (2020-01-10)
8"Baton Rouge"Michael SpillerTracy Poust & Jon KinnallyJanuary 10, 2020 (2020-01-10)
9"Fort Worth"Dennie GordonMichael Patrick King & Jhoni MarchinkoJanuary 10, 2020 (2020-01-10)
10"Dallas"Michael Patrick KingRuPaul Charles & Michael Patrick KingJanuary 10, 2020 (2020-01-10)

Soundtrack

On January 24th, 2020 a 16 track soundtrack album titled AJ and the Queen (Official Television Soundtrack) was released by Warner Bros, Entertainment. It was created by Lior Rosner and RuPaul. [14]

AJ and the Queen (Official Television Soundtrack)
No.TitleArtistLength
1."Ruby Is Red Hot (From AJ and the Queen)"RuPaul2:43
2."Walk It Off (I'm on My Way)"RuPaul3:11
3."Ruby Is Red Hot (Retro Remix)"RuPaul2:30
4."Ruby Is Red Hot (Kummerspeck Remix)"RuPaul2:29
5."Ruby Is Red Hot (Lush Remix)"RuPaul2:16
6."In the Beginning"Lior Rosner1:13
7."AJ's Theme"Lior Rosner3:15
8."Lady Danger"Lior Rosner3:08
9."Mount Juliet"Lior Rosner1:04
10."AJ Bribes the Drag Fans"Lior Rosner0:49
11."Danielle Plans Some Trouble"Lior Rosner1:11
12."Lady Danger Breaking and Entering"Lior Rosner0:51
13."Queens to the Rescue"Lior Rosner0:48
14."Damian Visits Robert"Lior Rosner1:59
15."AJ Drop Off and Goodbye"Lior Rosner2:14
16."The End"Lior Rosner3:03
Total length:32:44

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, 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."[15] On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[16]

References
  1. 'AJ AND THE QUEEN' RELEASE DATE, CAST, TRAILER, PLOT: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT NETFLIX'S RUPAUL SERIES
  2. Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (May 11, 2018). "RuPaul Comedy Series 'AJ And The Queen' Set On Netflix From Michael Patrick King". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  3. AJ and the Queen (TV Series 2020– ) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-01-16
  4. Nolfi, Joey (December 3, 2019). "RuPaul brings 22 Drag Race queens to costar on AJ and the Queen". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  5. Daw, Stephen (May 11, 2018). "RuPaul Lands Starring Role in New Netflix Original Series 'AJ and the Queen'". Billboard. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  6. Nolfi, Joey (May 11, 2018). "RuPaul to star in Netflix comedy 'AJ and the Queen'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  7. Sandberg, Bryn Elise (May 11, 2018). "RuPaul Comedy Series From Michael Patrick King Set at Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  8. McHenry, Jackson; Fernandez, Maria Elena (July 17, 2018). "Here's a Casting Breakdown for RuPaul's Netflix Show AJ and the Queen". Vulture. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  9. Goldberg, Lesley (September 21, 2018). "Netflix Rounds Out Cast for RuPaul Comedy 'AJ and the Queen'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  10. Petski, Denise (October 16, 2018). "'AJ And The Queen': Izzy G To Star As AJ In RuPaul's Netflix Comedy Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  11. Petski, Denise (January 18, 2019). "'AJ And The Queen' Casts Matthew Wilkas; Christopher Naoki Lee Joins 'The Terror'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  12. Swift, Andy (March 6, 2020). "AJ and the Queen Cancelled at Netflix". money.yahoo.com. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  13. "AJ and the Queen – Listings". The Futon Critic. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  14. "AJ and the Queen (Original Television Soundtrack) by Lior Rosner & RuPaul". Apple Music. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  15. "AJ and the Queen: Season 1 (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  16. "AJ and the Queen - TV Show Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
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