‘AJ and the Queen’ is a perfect popcorn fodder

What do you get when RuPaul Charles and the director of Sex and the City collaborate? AJ and the Queen on a cross-country road trip from New York City to Texas.

Charles stars as Ruby Red, a bigger-than-life but down-on-her-luck drag queen who travels across America from club to club in a run-down ’90s van in order to recoup savings recently stolen from her. She’s paired with AJ, a recently orphaned, scrappy 10-year-old stowaway. As these two misfits, one tall, one small, travel from city to city, Ruby’s message of love and acceptance winds up touching people and changing their lives for the better.

This fun, outrageous series explores ideas of family, friendship, love, and loss. Ruby and AJ help each other navigate their heartbreaking pasts, a challenging present and a hopeful future as they search for a little happiness and the very best breakfast waffle. This show is part Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, part Touched by an Angel – and Charles performs a killer musical number in every drag club.

While there are moments that are heartfelt and sweet, it’s the over-the-top camp value that makes AJ and the Queen so devilishly addictive – in particular thanks to Tia Carrere as Lady Danger, a slapstick criminal who does bad botox. Lady Danger mixes vamp with camp and you can’t help but root for her as the series progresses. With the other two, there’s never really a lot of character development. This is perfect popcorn fodder – and the kind of show that’s just fun for anyone.

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