#I personally vibe with Jeffrey better but he also has less relevant experience.

[brookelynnthetop]

Canada Drag Race Ep 1 - Thoughts

Tldr; the judging panel/guest dynamic doesn't work

I love the premier and I'm excited for the season but I do think the show needs some work. Trying to be drag race but not "Rupaul's DR" is a difficult line to walk but I think they're currently missing it.

While I totally get what they're trying to do, theyre missing some key elements.

Firstly, the three judges dont really seem to gel that well and they were all so similar. The female judge for me especially seemed kind of off.

With RPDR there's a clear dynamic: Ru is in charge and the moderator, Carson is fashion, Ross is personality/comedy, Michele is polish, and the guest judge is about the challenge/queen overall. And they all work together really well to keep the dynamic purposeful but not overly critical. They often disagree, they bring different schools of thoughts, and they complement each other well. The judges tonight seemed a bit harsh and mostly repeated the same things over and over.

Secondly, I love brooke so much but shes hardly a funny queen. I'm sure she'll loosen up a bit over time but right now the panel just seems a bit stiff. None of the judges really seemed to bring much personality or flavour and the panel as a whole was missing the funny/lightness.

Lastly, the whole "guest host" thing was just super janky.

I dont really get the point of having a guest host instead of a guest judge. They provided critiques but don't get a vote so don't really have influence. And they aren't really even doing the hosting. They basically just walked down the runway and did the mainstage introduction, so as to not upset the "democracy trio", but Brooke was leading the panel, the critiques, and the deliberation, and was clearly in charge.

I know they're trying very hard to not make Brooke Rupaul and to establish themselves on their own rather than DRUK which was just literally DR but in London, but it's just not working.

Obviously this is all after only one episode, so I'm waiting to see how it develops, but as of right now I think it needs several major changes.

My suggestion:

1. Scrap the guest host bit and make Brooke Lynn the host. The judges still share workroom duties, but Brooke walks the runway (I mean she's the actual drag queen on the panel and the people want to see her!), introduces the mainstage, and leads/moderates the panel.

2. Replace Stacey. She's seems the least interesting and engaging on the panel, and they desperately need a comedic judge.

3. Make the guest host a guest judge and give them a vote. This means four votes for winners and lip syncs, but as host Brooke Lynn is also head judge and splits all ties. This way they retain the democracy, and better include the guest.

This I think will fix the main issues.

Sufficed to say I'm excited to see what the rest of the show will bring and I'm keen for more drag!