RuPaul comedy AJ and the Queen: Everything we know so far
RuPaul speaks after being given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (Amanda Edwards/Getty)
Drag icon RuPaul is set to star in a new comedy series for Netflix – here’s what we know so far.
RuPaul may have birthed an international TV empire with RuPaul’s Drag Race, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to hang up his heels and retire.
The TV personality is front and center of a new comedy series in the works at Netflix, AJ and the Queen.
Ru Paul is coming back to a Netflix in a whole new show (Amanda Edwards/Getty)
What is it about?
The 10-episode series will star RuPaul as down-on-her-luck drag queen Ruby Red, as she travels from show to show across America, alongside 11-year-old orphan AJ, as the pair bring glam and acceptance to the people they meet along the way.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, RuPaul will perform a musical number in every episode.
Who is working on it?
As well as starring, RuPaul is serving as co-creator and executive producer.
Sex and the City writer Michael Patrick King is also onboard as co-creator, bringing a wealth of TV comedy experience.
Sex and the City writer is also onboard (Stephen Lovekin/Getty)
The show was picked up by Netflix in May 2018, with the streaming giant giving it a straight-to-series order.
Netflix has invested a lot in drag content, picking up international rights to Drag Race and ordering Dancing Queen, a new reality show following Drag Race alum Alyssa Edwards. The streaming giant also scooped the distribution rights to Bianca Del Rio’s film Hurricane Bianca.
Who else is in the cast?
Casting is TBA for the role of AJ, but some of the other roles have already been filled.
THR reports that, Josh Segarra, most recently seen as CO Stefanovic on OG Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, will play Ruby Red’s shady, “straight-acting” boyfriend Hector.
CO Stefanovic in Orange is the New Black (Netflix)
The Princess and the Frog voice actor Michael-Leon Wooley is set to play blind drag queen Louis, while General Hospital‘s Tia Carrere will play Lady Danger, a provider of bargain-basement silicone injections.
Katerina Tannenbaum has been cast as “clueless hooker” Brianna.
When does it air?
No premiere date has been announced yet.
Given the project seems pretty far down the pipeline, though, it’s likely Netflix won’t keep fans waiting for too long.
What does this mean for RuPaul’s Drag Race?
Given Drag Race continues to pull in big audiences (and Emmy Awards) for VH1, it seems pretty unlikely that the show – or Untucked and All Stars – are going anywhere fast.
RuPaul and the cast and crew of Drag Race accept Outstanding Reality Competition Programme Emmy for the first time (Kevin Winter/Getty)
Drag Race has already been renewed for an 11th season, while a fourth season of All Stars is also coming up in 2019.
RuPaul is still expected to be involved in all the US Drag Race shows going forward, naturally.
