Kristen Wiig, Carol Burnett, Allison Janney, Laura Dern. These are just some of the powerful names at the center of the Apple TV+ comedy series “Palm Royale.” “These things become a kind of rush where people want to go to the party,” showrunner Abe Sylvia says, laughing. “Once we had Kristen Wiig and Laura Dern at the top of our call sheet, we immediately got attention.”
The program is based on the novel “Mr. & Mrs. American Pie” by Juliet McDaniel, about a social climber in mid-century Palm Springs. Sylvia reinvented the story in Palm Beach, Florida, and expanded the material to accommodate enough dramatic possibilities for an open-ended series. Laura Dern and Jayme Lemons' Jaywalker Pictures developed it as a vehicle for Dern. But due to other commitments, Dern took on the supporting role of political activist heiress Linda Shaw.
Instead, Wiig takes center stage as Maxine Simmons, an ambitious social climber in Palm Beach's rarefied society. Membership in the Palm Royale is de rigueur, and once inside, Maxine works her way to the top of society while hiding her secret poverty. It's a problem that will solve itself, she assumes, when her catatonic aunt-in-law, former socialite Norma Dellacorte (Burnett), finally dies.
“At first, thinking about Carol was a little intimidating because she inspired me so much,” Wiig recalls of working with the impressively vivacious 90-year-old comics legend. “With your program, I learned about comedy sketches. And as a woman who has her own show at that time, she is simply a legend. But as soon as you meet her, she is very warm and makes everyone feel comfortable. Being on set and doing a scene with Carol Burnett, I never got used to that.”
In Palm Royale, everyone hates everyone, but everyone needs allies. Maxine's allies are a gay pool boy (Ricky Martin), her womanizing airline pilot husband (Josh Lucas), and her aunt, who at one point pushes her off a yacht in the middle of the ocean. ocean. But not before she Maxine sings a song to a stranded whale, calling it back to the sea. The whale visits her to thank her but she cannot rescue him from her. That job is left to a nearby astronaut because, you know, Apollo 11. But will the astronaut accept his invitation to the seasonal social event? In fact, she will. Not only that, but he's bringing President Nixon with him.
Such is the logic of a show determined not to be predictable. “What people crave right now is aggressive originality, something that doesn't look or feel like anything we've seen before,” says Sylvia. “As a gay filmmaker, queer cinema is often pastiche. We recycle pop culture through our personal lens, and it comes to light and creates something new. You don't see much of that in American cinema. The show is somewhat Almodóvarian. It is melodrama, then comedy, then drama, then thriller and then soap opera.”
Working with Carol Burnett was “a little intimidating for me because she inspired me so much,” remembers Kristen Wiig, here with “Palm Royale” co-star Ricky Martin.
(Beth Dubber/Apple TV+)
Amid all the toxic posturing around the Palm Royale pool, the turbulence of the era barely registers. An inspiration for the look of the show was Slim Aarons' mid-century photographs in Palm Springs of what he called “beautiful people doing beautiful things in beautiful places.”
“This idea that all these people in society keep the real world at bay,” Sylvia says. “Looking at these photographs, you have no idea that the Vietnam War is in full swing and cities are burning due to civil rights riots and the quest for equality. And these people look beautiful and think, 'What world is out there?'”
So why would the public care about a liar and a cheat desperate to gain acceptance among the horrible elitists of an exclusive club? Maxine is a loser and a disrupter of the tradition of the Marx Brothers and Charlie Chaplin and, like the latter, she does so with complete sincerity.
“She believes in herself and is never embarrassed,” says Wiig, who was drawn to the show's mix of absurdist comedy and emotional drama. “If that person is being cheerful and positive, I think the fact that she ultimately wants it so much from her heart and is so energetic, there's something contagious about that.”
Highlighting her dramatic chops over broad comedy, the complicated tone of “Palm Royale” allowed Wiig to take big swings, something she did co-writing and starring in “Bridesmaids,” and something she does in life. While she attended the University of Arizona, where she went to become an art professor, she dropped out after an acting class and headed to Los Angeles to become an actress.
“I was a bit lost as most of us are in our twenties and I didn't really know what I was doing. There was something pushing me that I couldn't ignore,” he says of a gamble that paid off after joining the Groundlings, where he honed his improv skills in the 1990s. Eventually, he joined the cast of “Saturday Night Live.” ” from 2005 to 2012. Since leaving the show, she has returned often as host, joining the Five-Timers Club last month with Paul Rudd, Martin Short, Jon Hamm, Matt Damon, Will Forte, Fred Armisen and Ryan Gosling present to honor her.
“Honestly, it was a very special night for me. I will never forget. It was one of the best weeks of my life. It was also very fun. I love coming back. You're bonded for life after that show. I even feel a bond with the cast I just spent that week with,” Wiig says. “My dream was to be on the program. You're in New York and you have the best job in the world. With my group, you basically live at 30 Rock. So those people are my forever family. It was very difficult to leave. I just knew it was time and it was one of those things. I just jumped. And I always knew I could come back.”
But right now she's not looking back. She and Sylvia are looking forward to the second season of “Palm Royale.” “I will direct at some point in my life. I don't know what it's going to be; We have talked about the program. I just have to find the right thing. “It’s definitely something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” Wiig says. “I like to do everything.”
