If I had to use one word to describe Canada’s Drag Race’s first season, it would be “potential.” The Canadian iteration of the world’s most popular drag reality competition showed so much promise with a terrific cast, some interesting, very locally-minded challenge ideas and some of the best lip syncs we’ve seen in the series.
But if I could use a second word to describe that first season, it would be “frustrating.” For all of Canada’s Drag Race’s potential, there was a lot wrong: the editing was often a mess, with queens who won challenges barely featuring in their winning episodes. The judging was a massive problem, as Brooke Lynn Hytes, Stacey McKenzie and Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman’s critiques usually ranged from the brazenly incorrect to the downright rude. And, as we’ve learned recently, treatment of the queens behind the scenes was allegedly unacceptable.
Since the first season, Bowyer-Chapman left the panel, alleging that his worst moments as a judge were pushed onto him by producers. Fan favourite McKenzie also sadly left, with the show citing “COVID-19-related challenges.” This left just Brooke Lynn on the judging dais, so the new showrunner (Trevor Boris, a producer on my beloved Big Brother Canada) and the production team had to find three new judges to fill the spaces. They brought in stylist and The Rachel Zoe Project alum Brad Goreski to serve as the fashion judge, while Season 1’s standout guest judge and The Handmaid’s Tale star Amanda Brugel and former Canada’s Squirrel Friend Traci Melchor got elevated to rotating regular judge.
With the three of them comes a decidedly kinder, more empathetic spirit, making for a group that goes out of its way to be complimentary even when a queen clearly falters. It’s almost an overcorrection to the point of being too gentle, but I appreciate that the show is making significant efforts to change. Potential just stays potential if you don’t actively work to take advantage of it, after all. And considering how much fresher and more enjoyable this episode felt in comparison to much of Season 1—even in comparison to the current Drag Race UK Season 3—I’m willing to give the show time to settle into its new, more generous spirit.
Credit: Courtesy of Bell Media
We’ve got a dozen new dolls to meet, so let’s run down some of the most memorable entrances! Gia Metric is first in, declaring herself to have an intergalactic vibe while wearing a shiny orange coat dress. She’s followed by a queen wearing what has to be the single most diametrically opposed look to hers: Kimora Amour, self-described “carnival queen,” in an opulent black feathered look. Right off the bat, the two are an indication that we’re getting some real diversity of drag and experience this season.
After Quebecois queen Pythia arrives in a very femme, all-pink ensemble, Eve 6000 enters with an eye-popper of a tagline: “The earth may be flat, but Canada has curves.” (Sherri Shepherd teas.) She immediately follows this up in a confessional with, “I’m Eve 6000, and I do not believe the earth is flat.” We’ll soon learn that Eve is a lot, and this entrance is a good bit of foreshadowing! She’s followed by detail-oriented queen Suki Doll in a gorgeous red, geometric ensemble, as well as Colombian-by-way-of-Montreal bombshell Adriana and the “campy, glamorous and socially anxious” Beth.
The next one is Icesis Couture, and here we come to the part of our program where I fully declare my favourite from the word go. I am all in on Icesis. Not only does she arrive in a gorgeous, impeccably constructed yellow-and-plaid look, she also immediately makes jokes in her confessional about her old knees. I’m in love. I also love Océane Aqua-Black, another Quebecois queen whose first hollered line is subtitled “Hello uglies!” Stephanie Prince is the third-to-last, declaring herself “the highlight of the show.”
And then we meet the Brat Pack, who are giving big “Rolaskatox of Canada” vibes. Kendall Gender and Synthia Kiss are the last two in the door, and Gia promptly freaks the fuck out upon seeing both of them. Once they’re all in the workroom, they go off into their own little corner of the world, screaming and gasping that they’re all there. Stephanie calls them a group of “narcissists.” Conflict! Already! You love to see it.
Credit: Courtesy of Bell Media
Anyway, the girls go through a pretty standard pair of first two challenges: a photo shoot mini-challenge that involves diving into a foam pit (which Suki wins), and an unconventional materials design challenge with stuff ostensibly left in coat checks at clubs. For most of the original Drag Race’s run, these two challenges being first was standard: both happened in all but three of the first 11 seasons, and at least one of them happened in all but two. Canada’s Drag Race started with the same pair last season, and it’s fun to see them stick with tradition.
Key to this maxi-challenge is that the girls are tasked specifically with making “premiere party eleganza.” Usually in Drag Race design challenges, the materials are what narrow the challenge’s scope, but the kind of garment is left more open to interpretation. This is just a bit tougher by virtue of not being able to make anything a queen could want. It trips up Gia, for example, who goes with an ’80s-inspired, one-legged pant look that the judges rightfully ding for having no relevance to the challenge prompt.
Much more impressive is Suki, who gets praised for a gorgeous green runway, but Brooke Lynn keeps her from winning because she didn’t use enough unconventional materials. Adriana’s is a favourite of mine that gets waved through without comment: her look has a lot of personality, and she constructs an impressively large hat to pair with it. Stephanie Prince gets the other top slot next to Suki, and while I don’t totally take to it when she first walks the runway, I get why it’s being singled out the more the judges talk about it. It’s an impressive bit of construction, though I don’t love the colour combination that Stephanie uses.
Instead, it’s Icesis who takes the win, for a Vivienne Westwood-inspired outfit made of coat-check tickets. It is, to put it simply, a marvel. The construction of this look is leagues ahead of everyone else. And while I agree with Brooke Lynn and Brad that the left side of the garment needed to be pulled up a bit, it’s such an easy fix (Icesis literally shifts it right on the runway) that it can’t reasonably be used as justification to keep her from the win. This is a terrific first outing for Icesis, and I can’t wait to see what else she does.
Credit: Courtesy of Bell Media
Gia takes one of the spots in the bottom three, which means it’s going to be either Beth or Eve who joins her. Both have unique, well-made looks from the waist up, but both of their bottom halves are issues: Beth’s is too tight and restrictive in her black mermaid hem, while Eve’s look is far too short for the old Hollywood glamour she’s trying to reference. But Brooke Lynn tips her hand a bit when she points out Beth’s shy, nervous runway presentation; she’s always cared a ton about presentation, and thus the writing’s on the wall for Beth.
But that doesn’t mean we’re done with Eve! This doll does not go quietly into that good night, oh no. Instead, she makes a big show of her walk to the back of the stage, nearly tripping as she joins the other girls and weeping loudly. It’s very obviously an act for the cameras, as the other queens call out. Eve seems like a real piece of work, and judging by her edit this week, I’d say this is only a taste of what we’ll see of that side of her.
Beth and Gia’s lip sync is to “Maneater” by Nelly Furtado, a goddamn bop of a song. It deserves a better lip sync than what it gets, but I do appreciate that Canada’s Drag Race lets the lip syncs go so long. We get a real sense of the fact that, while she gets a bit manic, Gia serves an energetic performance throughout. Beth has a cute bit in which she humps the floor, but she stays down there for too long—something we might not have gotten a sense for in a shorter lip sync edit. Gia stays, but Beth gets a very kind, empathetic farewell from the judges on her way out. It’s an affirming departure that validates her as a performer and as a drag artist, all while noting that this is not her time. “I hope you all have the Beth time,” she says to everyone as she leaves, to the panel’s delight.
Overall, this is a really solid, effective premiere. It gets you familiar with the cast quickly, establishes some dynamics for the season and demonstrates that the judging will be different this go-around. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but quite frankly, I wouldn’t have wanted that. There were enough problems to address that keeping it simple is the right call. Now, the ball is in the show’s court as to whether these changes can last.
Untucking our final thoughts
✨Synthia Kiss wins for my favourite entrance confessional: “I’m 29 years old, and I’m so excited for jury duty. It’s our civic right!”
✨In another bit of Eve being extra, she apparently hates Gia for unfollowing her on Instagram. She’s gonna be a real handful, I can tell.
✨Caitlin Cronenberg, photographer and daughter of director David Cronenberg, is both the photographer for the mini-challenge and our guest judge this week. Her photos all look stellar, and it’s a fun callback to the days of Mike Ruiz to have the photographer join the panel. She gets out one of my favourite lines this week, about Eve 6000: “She’s amping up, I think. She’s at maybe an Eve 3000.”
✨Re: the more empathetic judging, I’m impressed that the critiques aren’t suffering from all the softening. Amanda and Brad in particular get some smart, specific criticisms out, without making them mean-spirited. It’s a nice balance.
✨“Praise be, kitty girls, it’s TV’s Amanda Brugel” is maybe the funniest introduction of a regular judge we’ve ever heard.
✨Océane already has a knee injury, and considering we’re heading into a Rusical next week, I’m getting Victoria Scone flashbacks…. I hope it’s not that bad, though.
✨This cast feels distinctly Canadian, more so than the first season—and I think the geographic diversity in the casting really helps; it’s not just Toronto’s Drag Race featuring Kiara and Rita Baga this time around.
✨Fully cracked up at the amount of lipstick Beth left Gia to clean on the mirror.
The next episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK will be available to stream Thursday, Oct. 21, at 9 p.m. EDT on WOW Presents Plus in the U.S. and on Crave in Canada.
Why you can trust Xtra
