The Reel Review
Season Two of Legendary on HBO Max moves from New York City to Los Angeles with ten new vogue houses competing for the $100,000 grand prize and the coveted ballroom title… Legendary. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this season there is no studio audience.
Emcee Deshaun Wesley and judge Leiomy Maldonado continue to be the heart and soul of the ten episode competition series, with the judges panel rounded out by Megan Thee Stallion (who’s picked up some serious judging skills since last season to match her amazing looks), Jameela Jamil, and the ever-persnickety fashionista Law Roach. MikeQ is back in the DJ booth. Among this season’s guest judges are Demi Lovato, Adam Lambert and Tiffany Haddish. Vogue fans, do yourselves a favor and make sure to watch Wesley’s performance at the start of the Season Two finalé – it is SICKENING!
With the clearly beefed up budget from Season One comes a splashier, more over-the-top set and way more spectacular costumes. The downside – less of the raw, do-it-yourself edginess commonly associated with ballroom and fewer backstories on the competitors. Those stories really help viewers get to know and connect with the dancers. That, along with less energy from not having a studio audience, results in a season that looks slicker but is just a bit shy of the quirky charm of Season One. Still, Legendary is a very entertaining show that clearly has found its groove and provides a welcomed breadth of LGBTQ representation. Here is our review of Season One.
REEL FACTS
• Legendary was nominated for a 2021 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Reality Program
• In June 2021, Legendary judge Jameela Jamil was cast as the Marvel super villain Titania in the Disney+ series She-Hulk.
• Legendary judge and Grammy winner Megan Thee Stallion just dropped a new single, “Thot Shit.” It appears to be a reply to Republican Senator James P. Bradley, who criticized her duet “WAP” with Cardi B last year. Megan revealed earlier this year that she will be graduating in the Fall of 2021 with a degree in health administration from Texas Southern University
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