Draft:Eh-laganza Eh-xtravaganza
| "Eh-laganza Eh-xtravaganza" | |
|---|---|
| Canada's Drag Race episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 1 |
| Presented by | Elisha Cuthbert |
| Featured music | "I Really Like You" by Carly Rae Jepsen |
| Original air date | July 2, 2020 |
| Running time | 59 minutes |
"Eh-laganza Eh-xtravaganza" is the first episode of the first season of the Canadian reality competition television series Canada's Drag Race. The episode first aired on July 2, 2020, through Canadian televison network Crave.
The episode welcomes twelve contestants and have them design a themed-couture outfit from a box of items. Elisha Cuthbert serves as a guest host, alongside regular panelists Brooke Lynn Hytes, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, and Stacey McKenzie. Rita Baga wins the main challenge. Juice Boxx is eliminated from the competition after placing in the bottom two and losing a lip-sync contest against Lemon to "I Really Like You" (2015) by Carly Rae Jepsen.
Peter Faragher for "Eh-laganza Eh-xtravaganza" was nominated at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards and won for Best Production Design or Art Direction in a Non-Fiction Series.
Episode
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In the workroom, in a conversation with Ilona Verley announced themselves are Nlaka'pamux, and became the franchise's first Indigenous and two-spirit contestant to compete.[1] Elisha Cuthbert is a guest judge.
Brooke Lynn Hytes declares Rita Baga the winner of the main challenge, earning her a shopping spree of $5,000 from Roots Canada.[2]
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Juice Boxx and Lemon place in the bottom two and face off in a lip-sync contest to "I Really Like You" (2015) by Carly Rae Jepsen. Juice Boxx is eliminated from the competition, and returns to the workroom to write a message on the mirror using lipstick for the remaining contestants.
Production
[edit]Development
[edit]Crave, a television network, announced they greenlit a Canadian adaptation of RuPaul's Drag Race with American host RuPaul named as executive producer of the series on June 27, 2019.[3] A press release from Blue Ant Media announced a casting call for drag performers to apply on July 9.[4] In the same year, filming began in November at Hamilton, Ontario.[5]
Release
[edit]"Eh-laganza Eh-xtravaganza" originally aired on Crave in Canada on July 2, 2020. The next day, the episode was released on streaming service BBC Three in the United Kingdom.[6] The episode made their its debut on cable network Logo TV in the United States on July 27, 2020.[7]
Reception
[edit]In a four-out-of-five review, Rebecca Alter of Vulture sees the franchise as a "mythical Greek hydra" and felt the premiere as an "old-school" episode from Logo TV. Alter described Kyne's characterization as RuPaul's Drag Race finalist Pearl Liaison for getting "argumentative" to their competitors and "refusing to humor" the judging panelists. After revealing the bottom two, she described the lip-sync contest as "meh".[8]
Isabel Edwards-Brown of Cosmopolitan included two quotes from Ilona Verley and Jimbo in a list comprising the series "absolute best quotes so far".[9]
Peter Faragher was nominated and won Best Production Design or Art Direction in a Non-Fiction Series at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards.
References
[edit]- ^ "Fans celebrate Ilona Verley, Drag Race Canada's two-spirit Indigenous queen". Special Broadcasting Service. July 6, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
- ^ Steuter-Martin, Marilla (July 9, 2020). "Montrealer Rita Baga makes a splash on Canada's Drag Race". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
- ^ Nolfi, Joey (June 27, 2019). "RuPaul's Drag Race Canada to serve meaty tucks and Canadian bacon". Entertainment Weekly. Dotdash Meredith. Archived from the original on June 28, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
- ^ "Start your engines hennys! Casting details for Crave's Drag Race Canada announced! Grand prize confirmed to be a sickening $100,000" (Press release). Blue Ant Media. July 9, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
- ^ Hynes, Hayley (July 9, 2020). "Canada's Drag Race is filmed in an Ontario city that surprisingly isn't Toronto". Narcity. Narcity Media. Archived from the original on September 11, 2024. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
- ^ Ramachandran, Naman (June 15, 2020). "BBC Three slots Canada's Drag Race into summer schedule". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
- ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (July 13, 2020). "Canada's Drag Race sets date for U.S. linear debut on Logo TV". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
- ^ Alter, Rebecca (July 27, 2020). "Canada's Drag Race premiere recap: Oh (Honey), Canada!". Vulture. Vox Media. Archived from the original on February 25, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
- ^ Edwards-Brown, Isabel (August 3, 2020). "8 of the absolute best quotes from Canada's Drag Race so far". Cosmopolitan. Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on December 7, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
