Like every other RuPaul’s Drag Race fan, I was excited to finally sit down and watch the new animated Netflix series Super Drags. The show is a Brazilian creation that has been dubbed in English with some of the superstars from Drag Race. The show is a The Powerpuff Girls meets Charlie’s Angels meets Adult Swim. The show is definitely meant for adults because of the language and sexually suggestive content. Voicing the characters are Drag Race’s Shangela (Donizete/Scarlet), Ginger Minj (Patrick/Lemon), Trixie Mattel (Champagne), and Willam (Lady Eliza)—but even these notable queens can save Super Drags from being a super letdown.
The show is focused on a group of three department store employs who lead double lives as crime-fighting drag queens (Scarlet, Lemon, Safira) and take commands and guidance from a fabulous Bosley-esque persona, Champagne. The team fights crime in Belt Buckle Bay where they foil the plans of their neurotic nemesis Lady Eliza who seeks to suck the highlight energy from all LGBTQ people in order to become the ultimate diva. The show also features a pop superstar, Goldiva, who is a statuesque glamazon oddly reminiscent of RuPaul.
It all sounds great, right? Who knows, but it only took me a few minutes into the first episode to get completely lost in the excessive dick jokes, fast-paced wit that is never given a chance to land, and hyper sensory visuals that don’t quite do it for me. By the third episode I was losing that lip sync battle.
Sure, it can be funny to see an animated character playing with a dildo or gratuitous innuendo flung back and forth, but after a dozen of these back to back it gets a little old. The dialogue includes every possible phrase in the Drag Race dictionary and overloads on gay culture vernacular beyond belief. Super Drags is meant to be fun, I get it, but it perpetuates every stereotype within reach and it is a missed opportunity for a great LGBTQ animated series. No T, no shade.
I know, maybe I should let Super Drags feel its oats. But if it’s your cup of tea, head over to Netflix and drink it up, hunties.
Not all of us are
Not all of us are particularly interested in drag so no drag can drain my energy to become a desperate oversexualised caricature of a woman he will never be.