New Apple TV+ series ‘Palm Royale’ is ‘a dishy delight’ with ‘wildly entertaining performances’ – Bloomberg

Kristen Wiig stars in “Palm Royale,” premiering March 20, 2024 on Apple TV+.
“Palm Royale” is a true underdog story that follows Maxine Simmons (Kristen Wiig) as she endeavors to break into Palm Beach high society. As Maxine attempts to cross that impermeable line between the haves and the have-nots, “Palm Royale” asks the same question that still baffles us today: “How much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice to get what someone else has?” Set during the powder keg year of 1969, “Palm Royale” is a testament to every outsider fighting for their chance to truly belong.
Loosely based on the novel “Mr. and Mrs. American Pie” by Juliet McDaniel and produced for Apple TV+ by Apple Studios, “Palm Royale” is written, executive produced and showrun by Abe Sylvia for Aunt Sylvia’s Moving Picture Company, executive produced by Laura Dern and Jayme Lemons for Jaywalker Pictures, Wiig, Katie O’Connell Marsh, Tate Taylor and John Norris for Wyolah Films, Sharr White, Sheri Holman and Boat Rocker. The series is directed by Taylor, Sylvia, Claire Scanlon and Stephanie Laing.

Esther Zuckerman for Bloomberg:
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Palm Royale follows Kristen Wiig’s Maxine Simmons, an irrepressible former pageant queen who tries with all her might to infiltrate Palm Beach high society. If you think the barrier island is a magnet for wealth now, well, Palm Royale presents it as an Eden of Rolls-Royces, updos and catty bon mots. Loosely based on Juliet McDaniel’s novel Mr. and Mrs. American Pie, the show is a dishy delight; even when its plot meanders, it’s sustained by wildly entertaining performances.
The show is created by Abe Sylvia, who in the past couple of years has specialized in dramatic ladies. He wrote the Tammy Faye Bakker biopic The Eyes of Tammy Faye and the Tammy Wynette series George & Tammy, both starring Jessica Chastain. Here he gets to flex his fictional muscles beyond the Tammy-verse by offering even more outlandish situations for arguably even more elite actresses: Allison Janney, Laura Dern, Leslie Bibb and, in the coup de grâce, Carol Burnett.
For all the Oscar winners packed into Palm Royale, this is really Wiig’s vehicle, and she shines. On Saturday Night Live, she became a fan favorite for her goofy characters and zany physicality; since leaving for Hollywood, she has proven adept at dramatic work, including layered turns in the indie films The Skeleton Twins and The Diary of a Teenage Girl.
Maxine requires Wiig to combine comedy and drama, and she steps up to the challenge, imbuing her character’s machinations with pathos: Even though Maxine’s goals are frivolous and her methods duplicitous, in Wiig’s hands she comes across as genuine and even a touch naive. She’s just a gal who wants to be accepted.
Not to worry, though: Wiig also remains very funny, with an elastic quality to her face. When she’s paired with Burnett (who, yes, eventually wakes up), they yield comedic bliss.

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