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Mar 20, 2024 By Lily Moayeri Photography by Apple TV+ Web Exclusive

Mid-century series are almost as popular as they were in their actual time period. It started with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and ramped up with FEUD: Capote vs The Swans, The New Look, to mention just a few. Palm Royale, based on Juliet McDaniel’s novel Mr. and Mrs. American Pie, is set in 1969 Palm Beach, Florida, and doesn’t take itself seriously in the least.

The 10-episode comedy pivots around a Barbie-esque Maxine Simmons (Kristen Wiig), a Tennessee beauty queen married to a clueless but happy pilot, Douglas (Josh Lucas), with a good family name, of which Maxine plans to make the utmost use. She is desperate to join the Palm Royale country club and become a member of the city’s exclusionist and unfriendly high society—no matter what the cost.

She topples into the club over the back wall, planting herself poolside and ordering a grasshopper. How hilarious to see Ricky Martin as Robert, a server at the Palm Royale. Almost as snooty as the clientele, Robert lives on-site at reigning society queen, albeit in a coma, Norma Dellacorte’s (Carol Burnett) home where he is rarely seen wearing anything besides snug swim trunks. As her estranged daughter-in-law, Maxine spends a lot of time in Norma’s unconscious presence, having one-sided conversations, borrowing from her plentiful designer wardrobe, and sometimes pawning items for hefty sums.

Maxine tries to make friends with the inner circle Evelyn (Allison Janey) who has taken over Norma’s position while she is indisposed and Dinah (Leslie Bibb) who is doing her due diligence to oust Norma. They have their own multi-layered agendas toward which they are constantly scheming and shut Maxine out. But a fender bender with Dinah and an assist with an unwanted pregnancy forces Dinah to grudgingly support Maxine’s bid to become a club member.

Outside of the Palm Royale, Maxine thinks she’s friends with Linda (Laura Dern), an upper crust-born-turned hippie activist. Linda’s feminist agenda is exhausting and contradictory and the dialogue of her women’s circle sounds very 2024 with terms like “male construct.” Her stylist, also the stylist to seemingly all of Palm Beach’s socialites, is everyone’s secret weapon. Keeping them all happy and helping them outdo each other is like spinning plates for him as he knocks back pills like Tic Tacs. He’s not the only one as these ladies are necking quaaludes every chance they get. The most real character is Maxine’s sweet and simple manicurist, played very naturally by Kaia Gerber, who, in meta moments, has aspirations to become a model. But in Palm Beach there are so many secrets and complicated intrigues, no one is who they seem.

Palm Royale’s stellar and well-appointed cast is its obvious calling card, but its eye-popping aesthetic rivals its marquee cast. All shots on Palm Royale look like postcards. Every moment with each character is photo shoot ready. The fashion is fabulous. There is not a missed timeframe trick in this flawless production design which is absolutely stunning. Art deco and ornate with beige, gold, green, teal and salmon as the color palette, Palm Royale is so gorgeous to look at, the story is almost secondary. Funny and frothy, Palm Royale is an indulgent watch not unlike gorging on colorful and beautifully decorated pastries.

The series premieres with three voiceover-heavy episodes, which taper off as weekly episodes drop. (www.tv.apple.com/us/show/palm-royale)

Author rating: 6/10