I’ve watched a shitload of RuPaul’s Drag Race in my time on this earth and now that RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under has wrapped for Season Three, I’m feeling a bit lost and less funny. So you can imagine my lady boner when stumbling upon drag competition show Call Me Mother.
Don’t hate yourself if you’re a drag-lover and don’t know what I’m talking about.
Call Me Mother is one you might’ve easily missed, with its debut season airing back in 2021. Seems like a while ago but let’s be honest, anything that fell in the 2020-2021 bracket didn’t actually happen. Or did it? I don’t know.
So what is Call Me Mother?
In Call Me Mother, three drag legends mentor a new generation of drag artists over eight weeks.
The format is weirdly like The Voice, where contestants compete in drag families under the guidance of their drag mother. Except the drag mothers are far more fabulous than Guy Sebastian.
(No shade, Guy. I love you and think your voice is severely underrated.)
Drag mothers include a mix of Canadian drag royalty and RuPaul’s alumni such as Miss Peppermint (RuPaul’s Season Nine runner-up), Crystal (RuPaul’s UK Season One) and Barbada de Barbades for Season One (there are two seasons all up).
When a house (family) is up for elimination at the end of each episode, the mother must pick which of her own drag children to eliminate from the competition.
You don’t need me to tell you how savage that is. Whoever decided that parents don’t have favourite children hadn’t watched Call Me Mother, clearly.
The aim of the game is to win the title of ‘First Child of Drag’ for a grand prize valued at $50,000. Call Me Mother is hosted by Dallas Dixon, an ET Canada Pride correspondent who commends the series for respecting “that there are more kinds of drag out there than drag queens”, as per The Star.
The entire idea is based on the drag family tradition — where experienced drag artists mentor newcomers as they learn makeup, padding and pinning wigs.
If the makeover episode of RuPaul’s is one of your favourites, this show is for you. Besides, the whole thing had me at Trixie Mattel (she’s a special guest on Season One).
If you need me, I’ll be listening to ‘I Am Your Mother’ by Meghan Trainor on repeat.
Call Me Mother is an OUTtv original, and will be airing locally from Nov 1 on PEDESTRIAN TELEVISION for free.