Legendary Season 2 Review (TV Series, 2021)

Legendary is HBOMax’s reality show inspired by queer ballroom culture. The first season had a lot of potential, but was definitely finding its voice as production went on. The second season has a clear voice and identity, but has the added challenge of being a show about ballroom that could feature no live audience due to Covid-19 filming restrictions.

In season two, 10 Houses compete in weekly themed balls. The two lowest scoring teams have a vogue battle to determine who moves on in the competition. The last house standing wins $100000.

The new format focuses heavily on the five elements of vogue. While this is essential to ball culture, it was almost an afterthought at times in the first season. The finale suddenly hinged on showcasing catwalk, duckwalk, hands, floorwork, and spins and dips. Now, every battle in the bottom two is judged on the use of the five elements. The first episode makes it abundantly clear that giving an incredible acrobatic performance will not cut it this season, as the winning competitor is basically told they were outperformed but followed the rules so their house stays. I like the consistent rules and the judges newer to ball culture are more familiar with these standards on the second season.

The other consistent element that elevates the entire show is house performance. The first two episodes are Grand Marches, designed to introduce each house and member using the five elements of vogue. From there, each episode features a group performance where each member of the house needs to play an important role. No one can be pushed to the back and saved for their special category this season. You either step it up and perform or the judges call you out for holding your house back.

The episodes also feature additional categories taken straight from the ballroom scene. Highlights this season include the Face and Body battles. Why those specifically? Season two features quite a few legends and even icons known for those walking those categories and it’s electrifying TV.

The format on these additional challenges is a welcome shift. The first round sees each house compete. If one judge chops, the contestant is instantly eliminated. Then, the House that went first in the category and survived has to one on one battle with each house that came after until one person is left standing as the winner. My legs hurt watching the duckwalk battle, as (no spoilers here) the first contestant potentially had to battle four times in a row to win after duckwalking down the entire runway and back. It’s a clear and consistent rule that improves the overall program.

Frankly, the only thing wrong with season two of Legendary is the energy in the studio. The audience is just as important as the contestants in a ball. These contestants are incredibly talented and know how to play to a live audience. Unfortunately, there are no live crowds due to Covid-19. The audience is the four regular judges (Law Roach, Jameela Jamil, Megan Thee Stallion, and Leiomy Maldonado), host/MC Dashaun Wesley, DJ MikeQ, and occasionally a guest for one episode. An audience of six to seven is a far cry from the 50+ people cheering and booing in season one.

It’s fundamentally a different program for the safety of the cast and crew. It’s a necessary change because of the pandemic, but it does change the show. Season one featured great reaction shots from the audience. It also had incredible moments of the crowd absolutely losing it because of a bad call from the judges. The judges played into it, too, jeering and heckling along when they didn’t agree with someone else’s commentary or scores.

I look forward to a third season of Legendary. I said it when reviewing season one and I’ll say it again here. This is a massive platform for some incredibly talented artists to show what they can do. Even if you don’t agree with some of the judging (which is true of every judged reality show that has ever existed), it’s still a phenomenal 10 hours of entertainment showcasing the talents of queer artists from across the country.

Legendary Season Two is streaming on HBOMax.