AJ and the Queen
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| German title | AJ and the Queen |
| Original title | AJ and the Queen |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| year | 2020 |
| Production company |
MPK Productions, RuCo, Warner Bros. Television |
| length | 47-60 minutes |
| Episodes | 10 in 1 season ( list ) |
| genre | Dramedy |
| Theme music | RuPaul - Ruby Is Red Hot |
| idea |
Michael Patrick King , RuPaul |
| production | Paddy Cullen, Marsy Robinson |
| music | Lior Rosner |
| Initial release | January 10, 2020 on Netflix |
First publication in German |
January 10, 2020 on Netflix |
| occupation | |
AJ and the Queen is an American television series that premiered on January 10, 2020 on the video-on-demand provider Netflix . It is based on an idea by Michael Patrick King and RuPaul , the two also wrote four of the scripts, King also directed four episodes. It is about the drag queen Ruby Red, who travels through the United States after a financial loss and befriends the child AJ, who has secretly got into her motor home. Several former participants in RuPaul's Drag Race have brief guest appearances on the series.
On March 6, 2020, RuPaul announced that Netflix had decided not to extend the series for a second season.
action
The drag queen Ruby Red saved $ 100,000 to open her own drag club. However, her life partner Hector is in truth the con artist Damian Sanchez, who stole the money together with his accomplice Lady Danger , who wears an eye patch, and fled with it. So Ruby decides to travel all over the United States in an old, shabby motor home and perform in clubs in order to make money. She is supported in her plan by her blind friend and colleague Louis. On a stopover in New York , the cheeky ten-year-old AJ sneaks into the car that is about to be brought to his grandparents in Texas . AJ's mother Brianna neglects her because she is hardly at home due to her work as a prostitute . AJ has been expelled from her apartment by her landlord, so she no longer wants to live in New York. From then on, Ruby has to take care of AJ, and a friendship slowly develops between the two of them during their trips and stays in different places.
production
On May 11, 2018, Netflix announced that it had included the series in its program and ordered ten episodes for the first season. Michael Patrick King and RuPaul , who created the series, were also named scriptwriters and executive producers , and King directed several episodes. Both Kings and RuPaul's own production companies MPK Productions and RuCo and Warner Bros. Television are involved in the funding.
In addition to RuPaul, who also impersonates the main role, Josh Segarra , Michael-Leon Wooley , Katerina Tannenbaum and Tia Carrere were cast as other main characters, which was announced on September 20, 2018. In October of the same year the engagement of the child actress Izzy Gaspersz was announced. In January 2019, Netflix announced that it had cast Matthew Wilkas in a recurring role.
Several former participants in RuPaul's Drag Race have guest appearances on the series. These include the winners Bianca Del Rio , Chad Michaels , Jinkx Monsoon , the finalists Trinity Taylor , Jujubee , Manila Luzon , Ginger Minj , Eureka O'Hara and Monique Heart as well as the winners of the Miss Congeniality Pandora Boxx , Latrice Royale , Katya Zamolodchikova and Valentina .
Cast and dubbing
The German-language dubbing was created by the dubbing studio RRP Media based on the dialogue book and the dialogue direction by Ralf Pel .
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Lincoln Lee / Ruby Red | RuPaul | Armin Schlagwein |
| Amber Jasmine "AJ" Douglas | Izzy Gaspersz | Emilia Raschewski |
| Louis Bell / Coco Butter | Michael-Leon Wooley | Oliver Stritzel |
| Hector Ramirez / Damien Sanchez | Josh Segarra | Valentin Stilu |
| Brianna Douglas | Katerina Tannenbaum | Lea Kalbhenn |
| Leilani Kala'i / Lady Danger | Tia Carrere | Ghadah Al-Akel |
| Officer Patrick Kennedy | Matthew Wilkas | Frank Schaff |
Episode list
| No. | German title | Original title | Director | script |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York City | New York City | Michael Patrick King | Michael Patrick King & RuPaul |
| The drag queen Ruby Red announces that she wants to open her own drag club in downtown New York. She saved $ 100,000 for this venture. Then Robert, as Ruby's real name is called, goes out to eat with his friend and business partner Hector, who has to cancel at short notice, which is why Robert leaves. The boy AJ stands in front of his house and asks him for money, but Robert refuses because of AJ's rough behavior. Robert and his roommate Louis celebrate the opening in their apartment. The next day, the two of them go to the club, where it turns out that Hector is a fraud and disappeared with the money. At home, Louis tries to cheer Robert up when AJ breaks in, steals Robert's last cash reserve and locks himself in the bathroom. Robert decides to go on tour again and wants to hand AJ over to the youth welfare office. However, he can escape when he is alone with Louis. The next morning Robert sets off in his mobile home, on the highway he is horrified to discover that AJ has snuck on board and is actually a girl. She asks him to drive her to her grandparents in Texas, and after a few arguments Robert gives in. | ||||
| 2 | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh | Michael Patrick King | Michael Patrick King & RuPaul |
| In a diner, Robert considers not going to Texas after all, but has to give in because she threatens to tell a waitress that Robert has touched her. Robert describes the events to Louis over the phone and stops AJ from stealing candy at a gas station. Shortly afterwards, AJ has a fit of rage because she forgot her cell phone in the diner, Robert promises to go back the next day. In the evening, Ruby wants to perform in a club in Pittsburgh, where she competes with her arch rival Alma Joy. After talking to AJ, she confesses her precarious situation, which is why they make up temporarily. Meanwhile, AJ cuts her hair very short in Roberts' mobile home as a token of her willingness to get along with him. In New York, AJ's mother, Brianna, is arrested while working as a prostitute, while a woman with the code name Lady Danger learns from Louis where Robert is. The next day, Robert and AJ go back to the diner, where Lady Danger and Damien (Hector's real name) have breakfast together. Robert hides while AJ picks up her cell phone and slashes Damien's tire. When Ruby and AJ try to drive away, they accidentally hit another car with the RV. | ||||
| 3 | Columbus | Columbus | Bobcat Goldthwait | Jhoni Marchinko |
| After the rear-end collision, Robert and AJ receive $ 200 from the driver of the other car so that they can settle their damage. When Damien leaves the diner, he sees Robert and AJ, so the two of them drive on as quickly as possible, being secretly followed by Damien and Lady Danger. Robert and AJ decide to change their route and drive through Hershey . In a car repair shop, AJ listens to a voice message from her mother on her cell phone, who apologizes for her neglect. The motorhome has to stay in the workshop overnight, which is why Robert and AJ spend the night in a motel. There Robert found out about a wet T-shirt contest that could win $ 1,000 and went there with AJ. Despite having a mishap with her fake breasts, Ruby becomes a celebrated winner. The next morning, AJ answers her mother, who has lost her cell phone, where it is run over by a car on the street. At the end of the episode, Damien chases Ruby off the stage during a performance, but she and AJ escape. | ||||
| 4th | Louisville | Louisville | Adam Davidson | Michael Patrick King & RuPaul |
| In Louisville, Robert is alarmed when he receives a call from Damien. In New York, Brianna is desperately trying to get a new cell phone while policeman Peter Robert questions about Damien at a drag club. AJ gives Peter Damien's license plate, which drives Peter back to New York, where he continues investigating and has a relationship with Louis. A little later Ruby gets into an argument with the other drag queens in the make-up room, while she is disposing of their utensils. When she gets ready, she calls Damien, who apologizes and promises to bring the money back in a week. Rubys threatens to fail at her performance because her rivals have bribed the stage technicians, but she can still save her performance. Robert then realizes that AJ has passed on his situation to the press, whereupon he receives a call from his colleague, the Cher imitator Brian. This claims to be a victim of Damien as well. While Robert is talking to Louis, Damien and Lady Danger are stopped by the police, but can buy their way out with a Birkin bag and money. When Damien later learned of his exposure to the press as a fraud, he was extremely angry. | ||||
| 5 | Mt. Juliet | Mt. Juliet | Michael Patrick King | Eric Reyes Loo |
| Robert is shocked that AJ doesn't know Diana Ross . As Robert explains to AJ why Ross is considered an icon in the LGBT community, AJ asks if there are any men who inspire him. Robert replies by the name Bob Mackie , a fashion designer known for his camp- style dresses . Since there is a museum dedicated to this in Mt. Juliet, Robert and AJ make a detour there. While Robert admires the Diana Ross robes, AJ sees a loving mother with her daughter outside, which painfully reminds her of the day she was thrown out of the apartment by her landlord. While Louis slowly finds out more about Brianna, AJ cheats other people in town out of their money, eventually getting caught and brought back to Robert. The two argue about why she stays in the motorhome and he stays in the museum. As AJ gazes sadly at their possessions, Robert and the curator Lloyd become friends and sing together. AJ and Robert finally make up, whereupon she surprises him with a dress stolen from the museum. Robert is pleased but has to return the dress when Lloyd knocks on the driver's window, whereupon he and AJ drive on. | ||||
| 6th | Little rock | Little rock | Adam Shankman | Stephen Soroka |
| On the way to Little Rock, Damien and Lady Danger discover Robert's mobile home, but Damien refuses to take it off the road. While AJ, whose real name is Amber Jasmine, remembers her past, Robert parks the motorhome on a campsite. When Robert is transported back to his time with Damien because of a document on his laptop, three young women ask him for help who want to put on a Grease show. During rehearsals, Damien and Lady Danger place a rattlesnake in the mobile home , but the attack on Robert's life fails. Meanwhile, AJ is looking for diamonds in the ground at the campsite to give to her grandfather. During the performance, the neighbor boy Brick sings in a dress with AJ You're the One That I Want . His father is not enthusiastic about it, but changes his mind after talking to Robert. The next day, AJ finds a tracking device on the mobile home, which she attaches to an almost identical-looking mobile home. | ||||
| 7th | Jackson | Jackson | Anne Fletcher | Drew Droege |
| Brianna visits Louis and asks him if he knows where AJ is. He denies this and gives her some money to leave. In Mississippi, Robert and AJ arrive at the Fabergé Legs drag club. In the evening Louis calls Robert and tells him about Brianna's visit. Then Robert and AJ make their way to Tent City, where Robert buys a puppy from two homeless people with his last $ 100. The next morning they are back in Jackson, where Fabergé organizes a barbecue for them and gives them a bag of counterfeit money. After the drag show, Robert goes for a walk with Fabergé's bodyguard Darrell, where they kiss and AJ brings the puppy back to Tent City. Meanwhile, Lady Danger and Damien want to overpower Robert in the motor home, but they are surprised by Fabergé's people who smash their car with baseball bats and take a photo of Lady Danger without an eye patch. At the end of the episode, Robert asks Louis to tell Brianna AJ's whereabouts. | ||||
| 8th | Baton Rouge | Baton Rouge | Michael Spiller | Jon Kinnally & Tracy Poust |
| After AJ falls off a swing, Robert takes her to the hospital. When Robert finds various text messages from her mother in AJ's cell phone, he asks about AJ's allergies when the battery is empty. He then asks AJ why she didn't reply to the messages. Shortly thereafter, a doctor asks where AJ's mother is, but Robert claims that AJ takes part in beauty pageants and that he is her coach. As AJ's arm is examined, retrospectives show that AJ's experience with hospitals is very negative. Robert is arrested because several people have expressed concerns about his relationship with AJ, but a nurse explains that his descriptions are correct. AJ leaves the hospital with Robert after he has paid the treatment costs with the counterfeit money. Meanwhile, Lady Danger ends up in jail for stealing Lorraine Bracco's credit card . When Damien discovers a false bottom in her suitcase, he refuses to pay her bail and drives away with the money. | ||||
| 9 | Fort Worth | Fort Worth | Dennie Gordon | Michael Patrick King & Jhoni Marchinko |
| Robert and AJ arrive in Texas. As a planned gig by Robert has been canceled, he decides to visit his girlfriend Beth Barnes with AJ, because it is very difficult for him to have to let AJ go soon. You are allowed to stay with Beth for the night, although AJ wants to go on as soon as possible. In New York, Brianna threatens to sue Louis after her daughter breaks her arm. Meanwhile, AJ accidentally drinks grape juice with vodka, so Robert puts her to bed and she tells him she loves him. Robert is slated to appear as Ruby for $ 1,000 at a Beth party. This appearance is catastrophic, and AJ has sneaked into the mobile home with a family member of Beth, which tipped over while trying to drive. After an argument with Beth, Robert convinces her that she shouldn't fake her happiness anymore. The next morning Robert and AJ drive on, but not to AJ's grandparents, but to a big drag event in Dallas. | ||||
| 10 | Dallas | Dallas | Michael Patrick King | Michael Patrick King & RuPaul |
| In New York, Brianna wants to apologize to Louis for her outburst of anger. When she finds out that AJ is in Dallas, she steals several $ 100 bills that are on the table and sets off for Texas. Lady Danger is released from prison for overcrowding and tries to track down Damien in New Orleans . He realizes that he still has feelings for Robert, which is why he sends him a voice message that he will bring him the money soon. Louis catches Patrick red-handed with another man, after which he drives to Robert in Texas. While AJ wants to bribe opposing fans to support Ruby, Lady Danger destroys Ruby's wigs in the motor home. Then her colleagues finance her a new wig, while Damien brings the money back to her in her locker room. AJ knocks Damien down, then she and Robert flee, while Louis competes in his place. Drag queen Danielle wins there, but Lady Danger has stolen the crown, which Damien observes from afar. When Robert lets AJ get off at the farm, he finds out after closer inspection in the backpack she had left behind that her grandfather's postcards were forged and that he does not even exist. Shortly after, Brianna appears in a police car and hugs AJ while Robert watches. | ||||
| On January 10, 2020, all episodes of the season were released simultaneously on Netflix. | ||||
reception
In the Internet Movie Database, the series achieved a rating of 7.6 out of ten stars based on 5105 votes. On Rotten Tomatoes , it received a 53 percent review rating based on 19 reviews and a 91 percent audience rating based on 411 votes. On Metacritic review of 46 100 spectators value resulted from the critics based on 8 reviews and a 6.2 out of ten based on 42 votes.
“ AJ and the Queen is a nice series for hang-over days precisely because of its length and expectability, because it lulls us very warmly, like a fluffy, brightly colored wool blanket. The show has RuPaul's snappy humor, but is just as cheesy and cheesy as Kevin Home Alone . Fans of RuPaul's Drag Race can look forward to seeing their favorite queens from the drag casting show again, with more or less acting talent but with great enthusiasm they play versions of themselves (...) RuPaul has become part of his series very tolerant, open and accepting America, in which the same rules apply in the country as in the big city. In this dream world there is no need for solid political comments or criticism. "AJ and the Queen" unfortunately only superficially touches on a few aspects that make life difficult for LGBTQ + people. You shouldn't expect more than a few nice, conciliatory hours and motivational sayings from RuPaul from this series. But that's enough: AJ and the Queen is the first Feel-Good family series, with a drag queen as the main character and that's remarkable in itself. "
Claudia Reinhard found in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that the “loud theatrics of the drag world, the fun of puns and the love of performance” on the one hand and the “joy of emotional longing as a dramatic motor” on the other are a wonderful combination could be, for example in a scene in which AJ swims with fake rubber breasts in a motel pool and then wants to leave this to a woman who has undergone a mastectomy . The mixture between comedy and drama is, however, irritating when "slapstick is simply reinterpreted into drama" and caricatures become characters. AJ's mother's joy over donuts after a stressful night as a prostitute should cause sitcom laughs, and in the following episode, her way out of addiction calls for honest emotional sympathy. Something similar applies to the relationship between Robert and Hector, which is why the respective conflicts between the two heroes could never fully develop their dramatic potential. The interplay between AJ and Robert is more convincing because, thanks to Robert, AJ is slowly learning that a female gender identity can be wonderful, while Robert is inspired by the “brave roast of Satan” to a strength outside the stage. The two main characters were looking for the answer to the question “If you don't love yourself, how the hell are you going to love someone else?” That RuPaul poses to the candidates of his reality show in every episode, but in a much tamer way, with classic Motifs of the buddy movie genre. This is sometimes touching, but it could bore fans of the biting drag humor.
Spencer Kornhaber described the series on The Atlantic as "extremely unbalanced, but often lovable". She is "stupid and instructive, lukewarm and enchanting". The development of the two main characters from quarrels to mutual compassion is not surprising, but that is also not important. Watching the series is comparable to “fishing out” an old VHS cassette from the comedy shelf of Blockbuster Inc. in 1996. AJ and the Queen is a journey of self-discovery like in My Cousin Winnie , a road movie like To Wong Foo, thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar , a “Strange Couple Comedy” like Twins and a “precocious child escapade” like Kevin - Home Alone . Every scene is so “cost-saving” that you wouldn't miss its essence if you pluck your eyebrows while watching it. The scripts and actors are brutal in a way that is unsuitable for a light-footed streaming series and "strangely exhausting". AJ and the Queen is keen to "rewind" the feeling of political and social oppression of the LGBT community. She portrays America as a country where intolerance is just a small hurdle. This optimism is not naive, but a deliberate provocation. The spectrum of "not funny child endangerment and neglect" runs through the entire plot and the viewer is subject to flinch. The negative and positive attitudes are a strange mixture, but in the end the positive ones prevail. The goodwill of the series is great, with the main characters teaching self-love to exhausted drag queens, uptight housewives and children who worry about their gender identity. Robert / RuPaul's sermons are a sign of tremendous transcendence, and the vision of drag queens treating America's wounds is seductively calming.
According to Variety's Daniel D'Addario , the series didn't have much to offer besides RuPaul, the charismatic lead actor had to endure a "tonally uneven and shaky plot". The plot about Robert, who is initially cheated out of his money by his lover and his accomplice and then followed on his drag tour through the United States, while he slowly befriends AJ, is "a lot of ballast" for a new series. who have favourited AJ and the Queen poorly. Lady Danger, a "snarling dragon who was brought out of the Carmen Sandiego League by cartoon villains", has to share the storyline with the traumatized AJ, whose mother struggles with her addiction. In the "generously padded" episodes there would not be enough space anyway to depict Robert in a dimensioned manner. During his journey Robert is perfect and funny, and in a few fleeting scenes his vulnerable side comes to the fore. RuPaul would play these well, but they are too far removed from the character who can be seen most of the time, and these sequences are so clumsily inserted that they simply "floated away". A series in which loneliness and isolation are overcome through drag appearances is too much for King and RuPaul. Drag is a very serious subject, which is why Robert's knee-jerk wit and embarrassment at being seen dragging during the day create nuances of character that occasionally drive the series in an interesting direction. However, with Carrere's unimpeded portrayal and Gaspersz's exaggerated remarks, Robert's environment feels "incomplete, chaotic and sloppy". This also pulls RuPaul down, who is an "exuberant and perhaps even potentially acutely emotional performer".
Web links
- AJ and the Queen in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- AJ and the Queen on Netflix
- AJ and the Queen at Fernsehserien.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ David Craig: When is AJ and the Queen on Netflix? What's it about? In: RadioTimes . January 2, 2020, accessed on January 10, 2020 .
- ^ Andy Swift: AJ and the Queen Canceled at Netflix . In: TV Line . March 6, 2020. Accessed March 6, 2020.
- ↑ Bryn Elise Sandberg: RuPaul Comedy Series From Michael Patrick King Set at Netflix. In: The Hollywood Reporter . May 11, 2018, accessed January 10, 2020 .
- ^ Lesley Goldberg: Netflix Rounds Out Cast for RuPaul Comedy 'AJ and the Queen'. In: The Hollywood Reporter. September 21, 2018, accessed January 10, 2020 .
- ↑ Denise Petski: 'AJ And The Queen': Izzy G To Star As AJ In RuPaul's Netflix Comedy Series. In: Deadline.com . October 16, 2018, accessed January 10, 2020 .
- ↑ Denise Petski: 'AJ And The Queen' Casts Matthew Wilkas; Christopher Naoki Lee joins 'The Terror'. In: Deadline.com. January 18, 2019, accessed on January 10, 2020 .
- ^ Joey Nolfi: RuPaul brings 22 Drag Race queens to costar on AJ and the Queen. In: Entertainment Weekly . December 3, 2019, accessed January 10, 2020 .
- ^ AJ and the Queen. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing index , accessed on January 12, 2020 .
- ^ AJ and the Queen: Season 1. In: Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved March 28, 2020 (English).
- ^ AJ and the Queen. In: Metacritic . Retrieved March 28, 2020 .
- ↑ Vanessa Schneider: "AJ and the Queen": Family is what you make of it yourself . In: br.de . January 29, 2020. Accessed March 27, 2020.
- ↑ Claudia Reinhard: Queen with fatherly joys. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . January 10, 2020, accessed on March 27, 2020 .
- ^ Spencer Kornhaber: AJ and the Queen Says Drag Will Make America Okay Again. In: The Atlantic . January 15, 2020, accessed on March 28, 2020 .
- ↑ Daniel D'Addario: TV Review: 'AJ and the Queen'. In: Variety . January 10, 2020, accessed on March 27, 2020 .