AppleTV+ defies the critics, orders second season of Palm Royale

The final line of our review of the first season finale of Apple TV+’s Palm Royale—penned with withering fury by Lauren Chval—comes off as quite a curse: “Palm Royale clearly wants a second season, but if there’s any justice in this world, it will not get one.”

There is, we regret to report, apparently no justice in the world, as the streamer has confirmed today that the series, which stars Kristen Wiig as a scheming social climber in 1960s Florida, has now been renewed for a second season. Laura Dern, who co-stars in the show, as well as serving as executive producer on it with Wiig, creator Abe Sylvia, Enlightened’s Jayme Lemons, and a whole host of others, issued a statement today celebrating the news: “We are so thrilled to hear about season two. Jayme and I (with Jaywalker Pictures) have been dreaming up this project for so long in hopes that audiences would have delicious fun with the radical ride that is the world of Palm Royale. We all can’t wait to get started!”

The series centers on Maxine (Wiig), a woman who dreams of cracking the upper crust of Palm Beach society in a 1969 beset with all sorts of extreme personalities and issues. (A plot to assassinate Richard Nixon features prominently in the story, for instance.) To that somewhat soap-y blend, the show adds a frankly ridiculous roster of talent, including Wiig, Dern, Allison Janney, Leslie Bibb, Carol Burnett, Ricky Martin, and more. (And that’s before we get into the guest cast, which includes a rare on-screen collaboration between Dern and her father Bruce.)

Although the renewal notice for Palm Royale was full of effusive praise for the series, our critic wasn’t the only one that considered the whole thing “a waste of talent”; the series drew fairly mixed reviews, with praise going to the acting and the opulent visual design of the series, but criticism falling on its inconsistent plotting and a widely wobbling tone.