The idea behind A Queen Is Born(Original title: Nasce Uma Rainha) is that hosts Gloria Groove and Alexia Twist will take an aspiring drag queen or king under their sequined wings and make that person the best drag queen or king he or she can be. The first original reality format from Brazil to be streamed on Netflix, it takes the idea of drag queens making people over and takes it to its logical next level. The Godmothers, as the call themselves, are not only dramatic and campy as you might expect, but they have a real drive to bring out their participants’ inner drag queens or kings, no matter how deeply buried they are. And the stories that come out of this show are supposed to get you a little emotional.
Opening Shot: The opening titles show the hosts, Gloria Groove and Alexia Twister, getting their makeup and clothes on, and we see them on the stage where their transformed drag queens put on a show. Then we see a shot of a young man laconically shaving.
The Gist: In the first episode we meet Paolo, who already dresses in drag to teach an English class for transgender people, called “English To Transform,” but he doesn’t have much of an idea of what his drag persona is, how to bring out all the aspects of his personality that he has hidden because he’s never been satisfied with how he looks.
What the “Godmothers” do is evaluate his skills: Dance moves, ability to walk in heels, his runway strut. He definitely needs work, but Paolo — whose drag name is Paola — has definite ideas of what he wants to wear. While Alexia and guest coach Tiago Abravanel work with Paolo to get in touch with his inner self in order to bring out his confidence, Gloria brings in Giuliana, an auntie of sorts who has known Paolo since he was a baby. She’s not a big fan of his desire to dress in drag; to help convince her that this is bringing out Paolo’s best self, Gloria brings one of Paolo’s first students to do Giuliana’s makeup and convince her that this is the right thing for her friend.
At the end of the episode, the Godmothers introduce the transformed “Paola Di Verona” for the first time, and she lip synchs to “I’m Every Woman”.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? RuPaul’s Drag Race and/or Legendary mixed with Queer Eye. Other shows have attempted this cross (TLC’s Dragnificent!, for instance), but not quite the same way as this one does.
Our Take: What we enjoyed is that the participants know that they can be their most confident selves in drag, and the Godmothers mine that desire well. They give the participant the tools to help them bring it out, from using a doll to help their protégés put together how they would want to present themselves, to giving them tips on how to move, how to put on makeup, and even how to see themselves.
As we see with Gloria’s attempts to sway Paolo friend Giuliana, though, they’re not just working on the person’s inner selves, they’re working on helping friends and loved ones see that this is the way for each episode’s subject to live as the best version of themselves. Like all good makeover shows, A Queen Is Born is designed to pull at the heartstrings a bit, but we were genuinely happy when Paola came out on stage and looked so much more confident and comfortable than he did when he met the Godmothers.
Sex and Skin: Not really, unless you count seeing Paolo walk out wearing a series of foundation garments in order to shape him and tuck in his “precious,” as Gloria calls it.
Parting Shot: Paolo says, “Paola was born today, with her wholeness, her greatness and her power, on this stage.”
Sleeper Star: Lorelay Claro, Paolo’s former student, is one hell of a to-the-point person. When Giuliana says she thought Paolo would act in theaters, “like an ordinary artist,” Lorelay shoots back, “Do you think Paolo is ordinary?”
Most Pilot-y Line: There seems to be a leap in polish with Paola during his performance that suggests that he got some behind-the-scenes training before his performance. But that doesn’t make the transformation any less gratifying to watch.
Our Call: STREAM IT. Because Gloria Groove and Alexia Twister make such compelling hosts, A Queen Is Born will always be a fun watch. But the human element of their makeovers is so well done, that’s what might keep you bingeing this show.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
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