Striking a tonal balance between drama and comedy can be difficult. It’s even harder when the series must adhere to a specific place and time. Yet Palm Royale, which debuts on March 20th on Apple TV+, makes a strong play for the Mad Men demographic. Equal parts stylish, melodramatic, and witty, there’s a lot to like about Palm Royale. However, even with one of the greatest casts ever assembled for a television show on paper, one cannot help but feel disappointed. There are fun performances, but its premise and story feel antiquated in 2024.
Palm Royale Plot
Based on the novel Mr. & Mrs. American Pie by Juliet McDaniel, Palm Royale follows Maxine Simmons-Dellacort (Kristen Wiig) as she walks in two worlds. She reaches for high status at the Palm Royal Club, where the socialites of Palm Beach lounge. Among her idols are Dinah Donahue (Leslie Bibb), Evelyn Rollins (Allison Janney), and Raquel Kimberly-Marco (Claudia Ferri). However, Maxine’s husband, Douglas (Josh Lucas), only moved back to the town to care for her mother-in-law, Norma (Carole Burnett). As Maxine navigates the gossip of the social scene, she becomes friends with Linda Shaw (Laura Dern), a woman fighting for women’s equality. Maxine must also work with Robert (Ricky Martin), a server at the club who lives in Norma’s poolhouse.
The Critique
The cast of Palm Royale is eye-popping at first glance. Even more impressive, the series utilizes all of the women as a true ensemble while giving Wiig the starring role. She gives one of her best performances in the past decade, equally committing to the character’s internal and external dramatic performance. In fact, her character actively builds a character for this world, allowing Wiig to layer Maxine as a performance within a performance. Wiig fits Palm Royale‘s tone like a glove and, frankly, holds it together better than nearly anyone could. However, her performance feels lost by the story’s lack of power.
The other women, including Janney, Dern, Burnett, and Kaia Gerber all get showcase moments. In that regard, series creator Abe Sylvia succeeds. Yet, in many moments, the jokes and drama splat on the ground. Rather than allowing the audience’s relationships with these performers to do some of the leg work, Palm Royale overexplains their relationships. At the same time, the twists and turns of the series feel telegraphed. The comedy lands some light chuckles, and the drama never feels as shocking as one would hope.
Granted, Sylvia comes from a line of shows and movies that appeal to niche audiences. His Eyes of Tammy Faye and Dead to Me both imbue their projects with prestige but cannot fully get out of their own way. They often cross into drama and comedy on a whim but, in the process, rarely land the highs you would expect from their ensembles. Palm Royale gives a similar impression, as the cast and crew provide it with gorgeous scenes to explore. Yet when the episodes end, Palme Royale begins slipping away.
It may also be the worst time for a series like Palm Royale to release. As national concern about the economy continues to rise, Palm Royale largely depicts the excess and wealth of its characters. It’s meant as a soft parody, but the dramatic stakes also require the audience to buy into the evolving relationships. Simultaneously, the fight for women’s equality could be far more impactful in a Post-Roe world. Once again, there are too many bits for the audience to take this aspect of the story seriously. When we question the characters being in either world, it severely undermines the power of the story. This ultimately sinks Palm Royale, even when it’s working at its best.
Conclusion
While Palm Royale aspires for peak TV status, it never reaches those heights. It’s got all the pieces in place, especially with a stunning cast, but it does not get over the hump. Instead, it feels like an underachievement in the face of Apple TV+’s masterful historical dramas. It will make for light fun, but beyond that, there’s not much going for Palm Royale.
5/10
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