Palm Royale

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.

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.

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).

1969 was a period of great unrest in the US, with the unpopular Vietnam war, student protests on the streets, and the women's movement on the rise. All this under the presidency of the conservative, Tricky Dicky (Richard Nixon). But that didn't mean a thing to Maxine Simmons, who at the time was so determined to infiltrate Palm Beach high society at any cost, while the world was crumbling around her.

The viewer will squirm and cringe with great amusement as Maxine digs herself so deep into a mess, and then attempts to climb out of that bottomless hole by any means necessary in this farcical series that takes a swipe at the lives of deluded filthy rich housewives of Palm Beach. To help it along, it is the performances of Kristen Wiig and the dynamic supporting cast that make this a pure delight!

Overall it is taking too long to tell a simple tale that feels a little drawn out, even after three episodes. Maybe best suited as a feature length, but it is still enticing enough to see how far Maxine will go to conquer the upper-class social scene, and hopefully make a mess of it all.