Beyond a Dream Come True': Palm Royale Cast Opens Up About Working With Comedy Legend Carol Burnett

The Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills hosted the premiere of Apple TV+ series Palm Royale, featuring Kristen Wiig as Maxine. The show also stars Carol Burnett, who impressed co-stars with her acting skills and mastery of Wordle.

By Barsha Dutta

Updated on Jun 08, 2024 | 07:49 PM IST | 169.8K

Carol Burnett in Palm Royale (PC: IMDb)

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Palm Royale cast opens up about working with Carol Burnett
A brief about the series, Palm Royale

The Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills hosted the premiere of Apple TV+ series Palm Royale, featuring Kristen Wiig as Maxine a relentless social climber desperate to fit into high society. The mid-century-themed pink carpet featured a Tanqueray bar, gold chandeliers, lush Florida greenery, and staff wearing Palm Royale polos, a nod to the elite country club where the show takes place. The series also stars comedy star and San Antonio native Carol Burnett and it seems like she has impressed the Palm Royale co-stars not only with her acting skills but her mastery of Wordle.

Palm Royale cast opens up about working with Carol Burnett

Kristen Wiig, who also executive produces Palm Royale, in an interview with Variety opened up about what drew her to the series. She said, “I just thought the writing was unlike anything I’ve ever read — so many incredible female characters. I loved Maxine. And also just, you know, when reading, all 10 of them are funny or sad, they’re kind of everything, and that’s just the kind of stuff I love to watch.”

Palm Royale (IMDb)

The ensemble cast, including Wiig, includes A-list actors like Allison Janney, Carol Burnett, Leslie Bibb, Ricky Martin, Josh Lucas, Kaia Gerber, and Jason Canela. Co-star Laura Dern was absent at the premiere, but her producer Jayme Lemons discussed her progressive character Linda, representing 1960s counterculture.

Lemons shared, “Linda was written from the ground up for Laura, with Laura’s input as to what kind of character she might be, and how a character like Linda might sort of subvert all the goings on with those women and how she might be a little bit of an outsider.”

Meanwhile, Janney plays Evelyn, the reigning queen of Palm Beach high society. She reflected on her character’s multifaceted nature and what it took to look the part: “I loved her desperation for glamour, her vulnerability, her strengths — just everything. And Alix Friedbeg, our costume designer, put me in so many fun clothes and my hairstylist Jill Crosby created the most wonderful confections of hairstyles on me. At one point, I think I had four wigs on my head. It was crazy. But I love all of the details of the style and the design elements of every part of the show.”

Janney was thrilled to be working with comedy legend Carol Burnett, saying, “She’s one of my heroes. As a young girl, once I saw her on ‘The Carol Burnett Show’, it was my must-see TV. I watched it every week. I love her so much. So to get to work with her is beyond a dream come true. I never even thought that was a possibility.”

Janney and Burnett are even Wordle partners now — they text each other their results every day. But who’s better at the beloved New York Times game? Janney revealed, “[Burnett] is hands down. She beats me all the time… She gets an average of two and below and I get it mostly in four.”

Meanwhile, Burnett kept Ricky Martin on his toes with little off-script surprises while shooting.

Palm Royale (IMDb)

Martin, who plays a country club employee, told Variety, “I felt like I won the lotto because everybody was so open to ideas, everybody was so open to leave the script aside and improvise. And I had a very beautiful scene with Carol Burnett where, you know, she’s in a coma in the show…and she would open her eyes. She would make me laugh, because it’s comedy… And I was like ‘Wait, wait, wait, let’s do this again, because this is impossible!’ But that’s her, it’s wonderful.”

A brief about the series, Palm Royale

Palm Royale is a ten-part period comedy-drama television miniseries created by Abe Sylvia, based on the 2018 novel Mr. & Mrs. American Pie by Juliet McDaniel. The series premiered on March 20, 2024, with the first three episodes. Palm Royale blends comedy and drama as it explores issues related to class differences, womanhood, politics and other pertinent topics.

Producer and director Tate Taylor spoke to a message at the heart of the show, “What I loved about it is how even the rich people — the people we all think have it perfect — they’re trying to find greener grass. And then you get in that grass — it’s not that much greener and I love that. I love the lesson of ‘Palm Royale,’ is that being content is what you should seek and it’s hard to do.”

The main cast includes;