Toronto drag queen superstar Priyanka parlayed her victory as the first winner of “Canada’s Drag Race” into a burgeoning empire. Multiple tours. Actually great music. (“Come Through” remains one of the best pop songs ever to come out of this nation.) A starring spot on the final season of HBO hit “We’re Here.” And, now, a TV show of her very own.
Priyanka is mixing together a few beloved genres — drag competition, small-business makeover and performance showcase — to whip up a delicious reality-TV confection worth binging. “Drag Brunch Saved My Life” (streaming on Crave Friday) shares Priyanka’s journey across southern Ontario, setting up drag brunches at eight sometimes struggling eateries to employ local queens, serve gorgeous dishes and help restaurants drum up more business in a tough economy. (They even make a stop in Toronto at the Alpine in the Junction.)
The show is as sweet as a pool of syrup on your morning pancakes, albeit with enough dollops of Priyanka’s trademark sass to make it palatable (“Are you in love with me?” she deadpans to one particularly enamoured waiter). Here, Priyanka dishes on the power of drag brunch, bopping around Ontario and why being kind tastes best.
Why does drag brunch bring you joy?
Drag brunch brings me joy because it feels like it’s the exception. When you’re at drag brunch, you almost forget about the world outside.
It’s usually on a Saturday or Sunday morning. As a local Toronto performer, it was always the Glad Day booking that Erin Brockobić used to host that was the booking that you would pray for. If you were booked, it was an honour. It was the space where I poured water on myself for the first time. I did my first split off the bar there. I took off on some guy’s motorcycle once.
Like, this crazy s—t happens at drag brunch, and there’s just something about seeing a drag queen or king getting full makeup, wig, outfit before 11 a.m., and they’re hungover from the night before and then they put on one of the most spectacular shows.
So why did you want to make a show about drag-brunch makeovers?
I’m like, “Well, if it is the exception, if it is the gateway for a lot of people to learn about drag, then this is perfect because my goal is to be able to create entertainment for everyone.” Like everybody can watch “Drag Race,” everyone can watch all kinds of queer content, but they often feel like, “Oh, what’s in it for me if I’m not a queer person, if I don’t have that journey?”
I want to create a show for the masses that has a chef and a designer and that classic Martha Stewart energy, but also has renovation energy, with a touch of drag, and it is for everyone. Think broader, think bigger picture, not just my fans, think everyone’s fans.
What shocked you about making this show?
I’m still shocked. My confidence, it comes from a place of protection, right? Like I was a hurt young child and, coming up through the media industry as a brown person, it’s all protection. So I’m confident: fake it till you make it. And it was so interesting seeing these thoughts that were so bold and so big come to life, and to have Crave believe in me, too, like trust me fully. I’m in the edits. I oversaw all the drag bunch themes. I oversaw all the menu items. My hand was in every single pot.
And then there are episodes where we’re finding out that a daughter is having a really hard time being a queer person in Orangeville and the mom’s finding out for the first time on camera, and then I’m sharing my story about what my mom told me when I first came out. Or we have an episode where the hotel’s haunted, like literally haunted, and I believe in that s—t, so I’m like, “I don’t wanna go here!” So it’s an interesting thing where what surprised me the most is that the beautiful Canadian stories that we’re telling were so crazy. I’m like, I can’t believe these people that live just like an hour outside of Toronto or in Toronto!
What did you love about featuring Ontario spots?
As Canadians, we think we have to live the big American dream to achieve success. And if we don’t move to L.A. we’re not gonna be a movie star. But with the age of the internet, with how incredible Canadian programming is, there’s so many examples of amazing shows that have taken off in Canada, so it’s nice to nurture Canadian talent. With the drag brunches, we were able to cast all these queens that got the opportunity to be on TV and it was a positive experience for all of them.
I’ve travelled Canada so many times and it doesn’t get more beautiful than Canada, so I’m so excited that we’re showing off these places where people will hopefully go check it out.
What makes you happy these days?
When Miss Brooke Lynn Hytes asked me why I think I should be Canada’s next drag superstar, I said the only reason I do drag is to create escapism for people, to show them that when they’re having a bad day, I can be there to pick them up. And this show is literally that, right? You have these restaurant owners who are random-ass, suburban-ass people and they’re calling me to help them. Like they’re calling me.
Did it give you a deeper faith in humanity or a feeling of connection with other humans?
It made me feel like — I remember one time we were driving, we were in Scarborough, me and my mom. I was, like, 10, and my mom smiled at somebody at the bus stop. And I, the brat, was like, “Why are you smiling at them? You don’t know those people. Like, stranger danger!” And she, she said, you never know what someone’s going through and, if you give them a smile, it could change their life.
It’s not about “Ha, ha, ha, joke’s on you, you’re struggling.” Like, of course, you called me. I hear you and I see you, and I’m here to help you because we got this. It really makes me feel like the people that watch the show, they’re gonna be like, “Huh, humans aren’t so bad.”
Why is it more important than ever to perform drag and celebrate the happiness it can bring people from all walks of life?
I think it’s most important to celebrate drag as the art form that it is. It is political and, just by existing, that’s political and that’s radical: that’s part of the art, right? That’s what’s beautiful about it.
The reason why I named the show “Drag Brunch Saved My Life” is because just feeling that freedom is what can actually save your life.
It’s the judgment, it’s the rules, it’s the segregation between people. It’s the “We feel like we don’t fit in.” And it’s like all the judgment that we grew up with is all out the window because it’s truly joy that will save your life and freedom will save your life. And drag brunch is the one little slice you can feel that.
