Critic Reviews

The half-hour-per-episode version of this show might have ultimately been stronger, even though many episodes don’t feel overlong. Beyond those moments, there are so many freewheeling touches over the course of the season that keep the fun alive.

The story plays like a wobbly, if occasionally charming, amalgamation of La Cage Aux Folles, Every Which Way but Loose and Curly Sue. ... The show's nostalgia for slapstick, false identities, chase sequences and general "Let's get out of here!" hijinks may test some viewers' loyalty to RuPaul, but the narrative gradually evolves into a sensitive exploration of created families.

Extremely uneven but often-lovable 10-episode comedy series.

There are moments that are absolutely transcendently funny. ... But the series is riddled with scripting snags, potentially by virtue of trying to balance camp and commentary in hour-long episodes. There are attempts at wordplay that just do not land, leaving viewers cringing. Meanwhile, Robert is charmingly unflappable, bordering on wry in his best moments, for much of the series. His introspective moments — in which he ponders aging, love, and identity — knit the series together.

AJ and the Queen might have been a lovely film, sweet and snappy and just on the right side of unique, but at 10 episodes, the premise grows strained and the pace is all over the place.

I can’t say that the show is...good. Bless RuPaul for finding gravity and soulfulness in some upsettingly saccharine dialogue, a contrast to the sassily-delivered one-liners he delivers with grade-A charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent.

Unfortunately, Netflix’s “AJ and the Queen” has little to recommend it other than Ru himself, bringing to bear the star’s charisma on a tonally uneven, shaky story and trusting that glamour will carry the day. Even RuPaul has his limitations.

The acting is not great. It is bad. ... Whatever its intention, AJ and the Queen is indeed awful. But it’s not good because of it.