Palm Royale

The set design is incredible.

But the series sinks, with every episode.

I have finished whatever the latest episode is, and I am just chugging through it. Such a waste.

I am curious about the ratings. I am hearing NOTHING about this. Even Apple+ has pushed it down the ladder, in terms of exposure.

Rather than a Kristen Wiig skit, I would have enjoyed this, more in the vein of "Big Little Lies," or something similar.

The slapstick is tiresome.

Great to see Carol Burnett. However, it feels like stunt casting.

I will watch it till the end, but I will be surprised if it is cleared for a second season.

I've only watched a few episodes, but it's a fun look back at the social scene back in the 60's. I'm old enough to remember much of the clothing, furniture, cars which are all very realistically depicted. Times were a bit more innocent on the surface, but lots of interesting things happened behind the scenes which would now be considered "politically incorrect". It's almost what I would call a dark comedy back in a time where people openly flaunted their wealth.

It's not totally believable, and obviously fiction, but still fun to watch and there are quite a few big names in the cast. Carol Burnett looks great and there are a few other actors which I haven't seen in years like Julia Duffy of Bob Newhart fame, Ricky Martin (who looks great), and Laura Dern.

The show starts off slow but hints at strong story and character development. The stunning outfits, beautiful landscapes, and talented cast drew me in initially. None of the characters are likable but I guess that's the point and I don't mind it.

However, by the fifth and sixth episodes, I found myself wishing for it to end. I would scroll through my phone and feel like I didn't miss anything important. The plot becomes repetitive and tedious. Although we get to understand Maxine's story to some extent, it's hard to feel emotionally invested. I really like how invested she is into this role and everything she and others wear in the series.

Palm Royale is an AppleTV+ series that stars Kristen Wiig as an up and coming socialite in Palm Beach, Florida where rich ladies gather to gossip and complain about each other. The storyline is set in 1969 that follows a group of shallow ladies led by Carol Burnett as the head of the Dellacorte family and his nephew who is played by Josh Lucas. Josh marries Wiig and they move to Florida where Maxine (Kristen's character) does everything she can to fit in. The ladies are played by Allison Janney, Leslie Bibb, Julia Duffy, and Claudia Ferri. Each of these ladies have their secrets which are kept by Burnett in her Rolodex. Laura and Bruce Dern play father and daughter where she tries to not emulate her persona as a former socialite. Ricky Martin plays Carol's caretaker as well as the resort's bartender. Wiig and Martin end up being great friends and rely on each other. Kaia Gerber who is Cindy Crawford's daughter plays Mitzi the town manicurist who befriends Maxine but by the end deceives her. The series ended on a cliffhanger much like a soap opera and hopefully we will see a second season. Each episode of the show tells us what Maxine is up to and where the story will take her next. I would love to see Wiig win an Emmy for her role, you could feel her struggles and achievements, and along with Burnett the whole storyline is long but gets better as it goes.

There are so many elements that if assembled artfully could have made this spectacular, - I mean INCREDIBLE cast, production, location, etc. I was rooting for this show so much. It becomes a struggle to care about the characters' stories over time -- and that's really a bizarre anti-achievement because there are so many beloved actors who you just automatically are charmed by and cheer for. You can't HELP but love Kristen Wiig and the whole cast from the start and then all that potential just seems to drain away. I wonder if it needed someone like David Lynch to elevate it to where it seems like it wants to go.

I felt like I was being promised something great... eventually... and it never shows up (or hasn't yet).