REVIEW: ‘Palm Royale’ Season 2 Is An Uneven Run That Is Equal Parts Lavish, Entertaining, And Stretched Beyond What It Can Handle

This article contains spoilers for Palm Royale Season 2.

Palm Royale returns to Apple TV determined to prove it has more to say, and more to spend, than ever. It doubles down on the camp glamour and social satire of its first season, but also on the weak writing and excesses that made that season divisive. The result is a lavish, frequently entertaining, but ultimately uneven second outing that stretches itself far beyond what its story structure can comfortably handle.  

Following the events of the first season’s finale, we begin with Maxine (Kristen Wiig) strapped to a hospital stretcher, wrists and ankles bound. Rather than ending in triumph, her Beach Ball ended in a psychiatric hold at Sunny Tides, where she’s accused of being a danger to herself and others. Inside the hospital, she hallucinates the Palm Royale around her. Orderlies become waiters, sedation injections act as martinis, and the wives’ psychiatric wing transforms into a private cabana club for those (women, of course) nervously exhausted. Wiig plays these sequences with impressive control, leaning into the surreal humour without losing the discomfort of a woman realising that her dream life has been taken from her. Palm Beach is about poise, and here Maxine learns that even perceived instability can exile a woman faster than any actual wrongdoing.

Kristen Wiig as Maxine in Palm Royale © Apple TV+.

If that sounds like an interesting start, it is. For a moment, the show suggests that it will delve more deeply into its themes of performance, wealth, and femininity in a world where all are fragile currencies. Maxine’s hallucinations reflect the idea that Palm Beach society runs on shared illusion, and that losing grip on that illusion is social death. Unsurprisingly, Palm Royale doesn’t quite trust its strengths, nor its A-List cast, to deliver something worthy of their talents. Just as the first season did, the second binds itself in excess. There’s too much of everything: too many twists, too many schemes, and too many subplots that you’ll lose track of just as the writers did.

That’s not to say the show isn’t entertaining. The broad arc of the season follows Maxine’s fight to reclaim her social footing after being labelled unstable. Once she pries herself back to freedom, with minimal assistance from her husband Douglas (Josh Lucas), who remains as useless and easily influenced as ever, she sets her sights on regaining control at Palm Royale. If she so happens to prove that Norma-turned-Agnes (Carol Burnett) is a serial murderer in the process, well, that’s a bonus.

Around her, Palm Beach continues its usual business of scheming. Douglas is torn between marital loyalty (what remains after his affair with Mitzi, played by Kaia Gerber) and the promise of immense family wealth. Robert (Ricky Martin), recovering from his shooting at the end of season one, remains uncomfortably stuck between duty, affection, and safety. His back-and-forth indecision, particularly surrounding Norma, is as tiring as it is dull. Instead of repeating and rehashing the same sentiment, this screentime would have been better served to Virginia (Amber Chardae Robinson), who is present throughout the season, but never enough that her part in any storyline carries real weight. There's an instance where she sticks beside the women, namely Maxine, Evelyn, Linda, and Ann (Mindy Cohn), but her role as "the man" and struggles as a black woman in the FBI take an unfortunate backseat.

Linda (Laura Dern) becomes the scapegoat, held in a padded cell at Sunny Tides, accused of attempting to assassinate President Richard Nixon. We know she’s innocent, but it’s easy to pin the blame on the radical woman rather than giving Dern something more to do. Her arc this season is interesting and ultimately a tearjerker towards the end as she finds both herself and love; yet there is not enough of her. She disappears for episodes on end and is missing from scenes that Linda's presence would have elevated. By the time her connection to Agnes is explored, far too late into the season, you’ll wish it had been a focus from the start.

Allison Janney, meanwhile, remains one of the show’s most reliable assets. Evelyn is a masterclass in self-protection, a woman who refuses to show vulnerability even when it spills out anyway. Janney never tips her into caricature, even when it would be easy to in a show such as this one. This is evident when she marries toyboy Eddie (Jason Canela), and ends up alone again, preferring her independence. Her evolving dynamic with Maxine, which is part rivalry, part reluctant alliance, is easily the most compelling relationship of the season. When the show places those two women in the same room (or underground tunnel) and lets them communicate or plan their next move, it comes closest to the prestige comedy-drama it wants to be.

Allison Janney as Evelyn in Palm Royale © Apple TV+.

Visually, Palm Royale remains one of the most appealing shows on television. The opening credits are a delight, provided you don't skip through them. The costumes are immaculate and character-driven, while the hair and make-up are stunning. It feels as if everyone is doing their job, except the writers.

This season’s central mystery revolves around the Dellacorte fortune: who controls it, who will inherit it, and how far people will go to secure it. The Dellacorte Generation Skipping Trust Fund will open once a legitimate baby is born within a marriage. With Maxine out of the way (not for long), Norma (Agnes) sets her sights on marrying Mitzi and Douglas so that the money held in Switzerland will be unlocked. Naturally, it’s not that simple. There are secrets tied to family lineage, questions about legitimacy, and inheritance technicalities that feel more soap opera than anything else.

Occasionally, there are moments when the writing does nail the absurdity of power structures and how quickly they unravel when challenged by an outsider. But then the show doesn’t know how to stop. Instead of sitting with any one theme (power, identity, performance, legacy – they’re all there), it flits between all of them. There are dramatic confrontations that couldn’t be further from the truth revealed in the finale, secret alliances, and conveniently timed revelations. Some are fun, such as how Norma came to be through flashbacks and Burnett’s voiceover. Others are baffling, such as the introduction of Mirabelle, Maxine’s long-lost twin sister. While you can never have enough of Wiig, you do have to wonder what the point of it truly was. It’s never boring, but it is frequently exhausting trying to keep up.

Some individual episodes and sequences work well. Musical numbers occur, namely, by Kristen Wiig, Ricky Martin, Carol Burnett, and Patti LuPone. Burnett sings a rendition of "Something Good" from The Sound of Music that is as beautiful and emotional as it sounds, while LuPone sings for the sake of it in the first of her two-episode guest stint. She's underused but brilliant throughout, and her number is a highlight of the season, even if it feels like her character, Marjorie, performs at the Square Dance gathering she holds for Palm Beach because of who she is portrayed by. It's no surprise then that even these high points highlight the season’s lack of discipline. What should feel like a sharpened continuation, one that has learnt from previous criticisms and aims for further Emmy nominations in what could be a weaker year for Apple following the lack of The Studio, feels like an over-decorated return destined for mockery.

Carol Burnett in Palm Royale © Apple TV+.

Palm Royale is gorgeous to look at, consistently well-performed by its experienced cast, and full of clever ideas, but it too often buries those strengths under sheer volume. In the end, Season 2 is another frustrating watch. It swings big, which is admirable, but misses the mark more times than it hits. It’s a world still worth visiting, particularly if you are a fan of its leading ladies, but one that would benefit from less spectacle and more focus.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

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Palm Royale. © Apple TV

About Palm Royale

Premiere Date: 12 November 2025

Episode Count: 10

Executive Producers: Abe Sylvia, Laura Dern, Jayme Lemons, Kristen Wiig, Katie O’Connell Marsh, Tate Taylor, John Norris, Sharr White, and Sheri Holman.

Writers: Abe Sylvia, Sharr White, Sherri Holman, Becky Mode, Celeste Hughey, Emma Rathbone, Kelly Hutchinson, and Logan Faust.

Directors: Abe Sylvia and Stephanie Laing.

Production: Jaywalker Pictures, Aunt Sylvia's Moving Picture co., Wyolah Entertainment, Boat Rocker Media, Inkshares, and Apple Studios.

Distribution: Apple TV

Cast: Kristen Wiig, Ricky Martin, Josh Lucas, Leslie Bibb, Amber Chardae Robinson, Mindy Cohn, Julia Duffy, Kaia Gerber, Laura Dern, Allison Janney, and Carol Burnett.

Synopsis: In season two, Maxine is left a social pariah after a scandalous public breakdown. She'll have to draw on her deep well of cleverness and cunning to prove once and for all, that not only does she belong, but she just might have what it takes to rule this town. Along the way she will uncover untold truths and finally understand what this town is truly built on... secrets, lies, and the occasional felony.