Palm Royale: Full Season

May 13, 2024 6:38 PM - Season 1 (Full Season)

In 1969, an ambitious woman aspires to cross the line between the haves and have-nots to secure her seat at America’s most exclusive, fashionable, and treacherous table: Palm Beach high society.

Starring Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern, Ricky Martin, Allison Janney, Josh Lucas, Leslie Bibb, Amber Chardae Robinson, Special Guest Star Carol Burnett, Bruce Dern, and Kaia Gerber.

Some reviews:

• Variety: "Kristen Wiig’s 1960s-Set ‘Palm Royale’ Is Unserious in All the Best Ways: TV Review"
• Collider: "Kristen Wiig’s Comedy Series Is a Delicious Escape Into Drama"
• Los Angeles Times: "‘Palm Royale’ is a brilliant, star-studded and stylish comedy led by Kristen Wiig"
• RogerEbert.com: "Palm Royale is Pretty and Shallow, Which At Least Matches its Characters"

Available in the US on Apple TV+.

posted by jimw (7 comments total)

I went into this a little wary because Kristen Wiig is very hit-or-miss for me, but she’s amazing in this, and so is the rest of the cast. Julia Duffy and Mindy Cohn are standouts among the supporting characters, too.

Carol Burnett is such a genius that she manages to be hilarious even in scenes where she’s mostly comatose.
posted by jimw at 6:46 PM on May 13, 2024 [4 favorites]

Since we’re full seasoning it— I thought the most exciting thing it did was go out on *that* episode. If it ends here, it may just be elevated.

I wish the writing had been a bit snappier and that Martin had found his footing a bit sooner, because he was great by the end. The whole cast was really excellent, and so was the production.


Ending on a bury your gays trope is so garbage, even if the writer/show runner is family.
posted by MichaelJoelHall at 6:49 PM on May 13, 2024

I got some whiplash on this. Amazing cast, but not what I though a Kristin Wiig vehicle would be at all. Carol Burnette felt a little wasted, but she absolutely stood out. Even still, it was getting a little stale for me, but then that whole "Is That All There Is?" performance at the end was so perfect, it won me over! And then they shoot the gay angel character? I don't know, why can't there just be a sense of closure instead of a lazy cliffhanger?
posted by Garm at 9:24 PM on May 13, 2024

It doesn’t look it has been officially renewed, but the correction on the LA Times review says it has. I would be very surprised if Robert turned out to actually be dead.

I binged the show so I don’t know how it felt week-to-week but I really liked the pacing of the twists and reveals and the progression into bits of magical realism in the last few episodes.
posted by jimw at 10:17 PM on May 13, 2024

We enjoyed the show and would watch a second season. But I feel that we never got a justification for Norma’s hatred of Maxine.
posted by billsaysthis at 6:25 AM on May 14, 2024

The first five or six episodes were kind of meandering. I felt like the season didn't really hit its stride until the second half—then it suddenly got a lot more interesting, and of course kept ramping up to a boffo finale, which was perhaps overloaded.

It was interesting watching a show where so few of the characters are sympathetic. Kristen Wiig is great, but Max isn't really a sympathetic character. Nor is her husband, nor is Norma, and so on. Also interesting seeing Kristen Wiig being so glammed up.
posted by adamrice at 6:58 AM on May 14, 2024

I read somewhere that Laura Dern had originally signed on to play Wiig's part, which would have been a really different shift in energy.

The Hollywood Reporter - Apple Studios Hit With Class Action Over Allegedly Shortchanging Background Actors On ‘Palm Royale’
posted by bcwinters at 9:45 AM on May 14, 2024