''Drag Brunch Saved My Life'' is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

drag

makeover A makeover is a radical change in appearance. When the word is used to describe a change in human physical appearance, it may imply a change in clothing, haircut, or cosmetics. A personal makeover might also include weight loss, plastic surgery, ...

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways. Philosophical questions abo ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

which follows Canadian

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...

Priyanka as she goes to different

restaurants A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in app ...

in Ontario and gives them a makeover culminating in a drag brunch performance. The series premiered on Crave on May 2, 2025.

Production

The series was officially announced in June 2024 by

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (Canadian French, French: ) is a Canadian media conglomerate that is the mass media subsidiary of BCE Inc. (also known as Bell Canada Enterprises, the owner of telecommunications company Bell Canada). Its operations include nati ...

as part of their 2024-2025 slate of original programming. The series was co-created by Priyanka and Daniel Birnbaum. The series is produced by

Sphere Media Sphere Media is a Canadian film and television production and distribution company based in Montreal, Quebec. History Sphere Media was founded in 1984 by Jean Rémillard. Initially named Groupe Télé-Vision Inc., the company was sold in 2010 t ...

in association with Bell Media. Casting for the series concluded in July 2024. The series premiered on May 2, 2025, with three episodes released that day and one episode released per week for the next five weeks.

Cast and locations

Priyanka serves as the host of the series, with support from interior designer Crystal Westland, chef Mitchell Bright, and drag performers

Lemon The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

Tynomi Banks Sheldon Orlando McIntosh, known professionally as Tynomi Banks, is a Canadian drag queen. A staple of Church and Wellesley, Toronto's queer Nightlife, nightlife scene since the 2010s, Tynomi Banks performed in drag for over a decade before compet ...

, and Xtacy Love. Westland is the owner of Toronto home decor shop Avenue Daughter,Odessa Paloma Parker, "For forgotten corners or even the head of your bed, room screens are the height of form meeting function". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', May 10, 2024. and Bright is a chef, food stylist and food content creator on social media platforms. Lemon and Tynomi Banks appear in one episode each, with Xtacy Love, Priyanka's drag mother, appearing in the other six. Locations featured in the series include: * Cosmo's Diner in Thorold, ON * Town & Country Steakhouse in

Barrie, ON Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is part ...

Brett Glover
"Pair of Barrie restaurants featured in upcoming Crave show all about drag brunch hosted by Canada’s Drag Race winner Priyanka"
''

Barrie Advance The ''Barrie Advance'' is a weekly newspaper serving Barrie, Ontario. History The first newspaper north of Toronto was published August 6, 1847, though because it was truly a time of pioneer printing, it was actually a week later due to a delay ...

'', May 2, 2025. * Bloom Bistro in Barrie, ON * YOU Made it Cafe in

London, ON London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River and North Thames River, appro ...

* The Smokin’ 116 Bistro in Belleville, ON * Deja Vu Diner in Orangeville, ON * The Alpine in

Toronto, ON Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

* The Library Bar in Paris, ON Cosmo's Diner was forced to close around the time of the episode airing, due to owner Karen Brookes having been diagnosed with

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

.Bernard Lansbergen
"Drag brunch TV show gives Cosmo’s Diner a heartfelt farewell"
'' Thorold Today'', May 19, 2025. However, Brookes praised the experience of filming the show as a wonderful and emotionally healing experience, which did give her a period of increased local business in the months between the event in August 2024 and her diagnosis.

Format

Priyanka first visits the restaurant on her own to meet the restaurant's owner and staff and taste a sample of the restaurant menu. She then returns the following day with the "P-Team", designer Crystal Westland and chef Mitchell Bright, for a more thorough observation of the restaurant's clientele and food preparation and service processes; they subsequently return to present their initial plans, with Westland presenting two design options for the restaurateurs to choose from, and Bright presenting a simplified brunch menu of four or five dishes from which the restaurateurs can choose one "signature" dish for him to elevate further with a special new recipe. Priyanka then returns with the guest drag queen, working with the restaurateurs to audition local drag performers for the brunch; Priyanka and the guest queen offer feedback and input based on their drag experience, but the choice of performers is also ultimately left up to the restaurateurs. Both drag queens and

drag king Drag kings have historically been mostly female performance artists who dress in masculine drag and personify male gender stereotypes as part of an individual or group routine. As documented in the 2003 ''Journal of Homosexuality,'' in more r ...

s are eligible to audition in this phase. In most episodes, the P-Team also identify operational issues, such as suboptimal staff communication processes or unresolved emotions around business or personal struggles, that may be interfering with the restaurant's success, and provide advice to the owners on how to improve their operations in the future. The final preparations to set up the brunch are then depicted, following which the brunch is staged. Priyanka also performs as a special guest at each brunch.

Episodes

References

{{reflist 2025 LGBTQ-related television 2020s Canadian LGBTQ-related reality television series 2020s Canadian cooking television series Crave original programming Drag (entertainment) television shows Makeover reality television series 2025 Canadian television series debuts Drag (entertainment) in Canada