Palm Royale, a dramedy about a lady trying to break into high society in Palm Beach in 1969, premieres on Apple TV Plus March 20. Kristen Wiig plays the woman, Maxine, and is an executive producer.
Allison Janney, Laura Dern, Ricky Martin and Josh Lucas are also in the cast and Carol Burnett is a guest star, as is Bruce Dern. (Laura Dern and Bruce Dern play, fittingly, a daughter and a father.) There are 10 episodes, and three stream on premiere day.
As Maxine attempts to cross that line between the haves and the have-nots, the show asks, “How much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice to get what someone else has?”
Palm Royale was featured in a panel at the TCA Winter Press Tour in January. Abe Sylvia, showrunner and executive producer, was asked about balancing the comedy and drama in the show. “I think the world is so delicious and all of these people are so delicious that we could spend three hours an episode with them and still be wildly entertained,” he said.
Sylvia credited Wiig with deftly balancing the laughs and the heartache. “She is a once-in-a-generation talent who is able to thread the loop between comedy and silliness, and then break your heart in the next moment,” he said. “There’s real pathos to what she does and it’s a unique talent.”
The series is loosely based on the novel Mr. and Mrs. American Pie by Juliet McDaniel.
Besides Sylvia and Wiig, the executive producers are Laura Dern and Jayme Lemons for Jaywalker Pictures, Katie O’Connell Marsh, Tate Taylor and John Norris for Wyolah Films, Sharr White and Sheri Holman.
Burnett said she took on the project in large part because of the cast. “All I had to do is hear who was going to be in it. Kristen, Laura, Ricky, it’s just an incredible cast,” she said. “I didn’t even have to read the script. I just wanted to work with these people and get to know them, and go out to dinner, and have some fun.”
Burnett added: “Of course, in the first few episodes, I’m in a coma, and I still got paid. So, I mean, it was a slam dunk.”
Palm Royale offered some unique sets, Burnett noted, that she was sorry to depart. “Just the look of it is incredible, the scenery and all, and then with all the costumes, I have never seen anything …” she said. “It's better than any great, big motion picture that you would see. It is eye candy.”
Palm Royale reviews have been mixed. USA Today said, “There are too many ideas, and the series can't focus on any one successfully.”
The Guardian said, “finally, a proper outlet for Kristen Wiig’s talents.”
Like Burnett, The Washington Post loved the show’s sets and cast, but not much else. “Gorgeous sets. Great cast. So-so story,” it said.
