Kristen Wiig & Ricky Martin on What Could Happen in ‘Palm Royale’ Season 2

[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Palm Royale.]

The Big Picture

• In the Apple TV+ series ‘Palm Royale,’ Maxine Dellacorte Simmons desires acceptance from elite society and resorts to extreme measures for recognition.
• Interactions with Carol Burnett on set were inspiring, forcing the cast to remain professional.
• Both Kristen Wiig and Ricky Martin hope for a Season 2 of the show amid the dramatic cliffhanger of the finale.

The 10-episode Apple TV+ series Palm Royale tells the story of Maxine Simmons (Kristen Wiig), who so badly to be a part of Palm Beach high society in 1969 but quickly learns they aren’t very accepting of outsiders. The harder the former beauty pageant contestant fights to be friends with women like Evelyn Rollins (Allison Janney) and Dinah Donahue (Leslie Bibb), the more they try to shut her out, regardless of the fact that she’s married to the heir (Josh Lucas) to the Dellacorte fortune. But Maxine is not one to be dismissed easily and her desperation combined with an accumulation of society secrets makes her more determined than ever to leave her mark.

Maxine just wants to be part of the elite circle of woman at the Palm Royale Country Club, seeking genuine friendship among individuals who judge each other by their level of wealth and influence. And while Maxine has married into the Dellacorte family, moved into Norma’s (Carol Burnett) mansion, and declared herself legal guardian, her position (or lack thereof) in high society just doesn’t budge, making Maxine more desperate to pull out all the stops in an attempt to get the recognition that she so desires.

During this interview with Collider, co-stars Wiig and Ricky Martin, who plays Robert Diaz, a bartender at the club and the caretaker who lives in Norma’s pool house, talked about how inspiring Burnett is to be around, having to just bite your tongue when you’re in scenes with someone that makes you want to crack up, what Maxine’s true motivations are, what it was like for Martin to share a scene with Laura Dern and her father Bruce Dern, whether Wiig practiced her whale communication skills, and how Season 2 could take things in any direction.

According to the ‘Palm Royale’ Cast, Carol Burnett Is One of Those Heroes That You Absolutely Want To Meet

Collider: I had so much fun with this. I can’t imagine how much fun it must have been to play these characters. I don’t think there’s been a female ensemble this excellent since Bridesmaids, and at the center of it is Carol Burnett, who’s obviously a legend and an icon. Kristen, how glorious was it to have Carol Burnett say mean things to you?

KRISTEN WIIG: Amazing, also because she’s the opposite of that in real life. You almost just wanna laugh that she’s playing this villain. It was a dream. I think I can speak for every person in the cast and on the crew and just everyone that’s ever met Carol, she was just a light every day and a huge inspiration for me with sketch comedy. She had her own show, which was the first of its kind, and she’s a trailblazer. She’s Carol Burnett.

Ricky, what was it like to get to form that special bond that your characters have in this and to share those moments with Carol Burnett because it is a very unusual relationship that your characters have?

RICKY MARTIN: And I love how people’s minds go in every direction in the beginning with it. “Is this sexual? How intimate is it?” But you know what? You can fantasize however you want to.

WIIG: We encourage it.

MARTIN: I just felt so lucky to be able to walk on set every day and be able to play with Carol because of her energy. She’s a super generous actress that only wants everyone around her to feel great. Between scenes, it didn’t matter how dramatic or sad they were, she would throw a joke and another joke, and everything would become so much lighter. It was wonderful. I loved it.

Did you guys ever have to come up with tricks not to ruin scenes, either with her or just with anybody? There are so many moments in this that are sometimes so ridiculous, so how do you get through it without cracking up?

WIIG: We weren’t very professional.

MARTIN: You’d just bite your tongue.

WIIG: We would just laugh and ruin the take. With Carol, it would always be such a surprise. It would just be a look or a wink or a little something that you weren’t expecting.

Ricky, are you always actively looking for acting roles, or does it have to be something particularly special to catch your attention? What does it take to woo you, and what wooed you with this project?

Martin: Oh, my God, where do I start? Listen, the first time I was in front of a camera acting, I was 15 years old, and I loved everything I felt. And then, I went to New York and I auditioned for NYU. And then, I went to Mexico and I did theater and film and television. And then, music came and I had no other choice but to really surf that wave. But acting was always there. I’m very lucky to work with an incredible group of people that are guiding me and giving me the right advice to choose the right projects. I just wanna dive in and try it all. But then again, how lucky am I that the productions that I’ve been able to work on, I’ve been surrounded by incredible actors and great producers and directors. I am very lucky.

Kristen Wiig Says That Her ‘Palm Royale’ Character’s Motivations Keep Changing

Kristen, the audience will wonder what your character’s motivations truly are throughout the season. There were times that I wondered whether she only cared about personal gain, and there were times that I felt like she really genuinely wanted what was best for everyone. Do you see her as someone who just wanted to belong and who really wanted to be friends with these people, or is she also a bit personally motivated as well?

WIIG: I think she’s all of it, and I think she even surprises herself with why she wants certain things. She could be trying to get one thing, but then she’ll completely pivot to make sure someone she loves is taken care of. That’s why I loved playing her so much. Like all of us, she’s many different things. She really wanted this one thing, but she gets distracted, you wonder if she really wants it, and then she gives up something crazy to really get it. She’s all over the place, which was really fun to play. I think we’ve all had that experience where maybe we wanted something, and then went the other way, or changed our mind, or changed the reason why we want it.

Ricky, what was it like to share a scene with Laura Dern and Bruce Dern? It’s not often you get to work with more than one generation of an acting family at the same time.

MARTIN: And that was the first time they were in front of the cameras together. The time that I spent with Bruce before the scenes and with him sharing his stories, it felt like great set-up for us to walk on set and then hear, “Action!” It was wonderful to be able to leave the script aside and just let your guard down and allow things to happen. That was the magic of being able to be in front of the cameras with him and Laura. Things were flowing, and yes, we had a message to leave before we heard the word, “Cut!”, but it doesn’t matter which direction we took. Everything was so warm and uplifting, and I was just sitting there taking notes. I felt very blessed to be able to be part of that beautiful moment between them. What did I do I must have done something good.

WIIG: Well, you’re a very good human being. You deserve everything that you get. You’re so incredible in the show.

MARTIN: It was great. I felt amazing.

Kristen, how long did you practice your whale communication skills for?

WIIG: I’m not gonna lie, I did practice because I wanted to do a good job with the whale calls. I listened to it, and then I tried to do it, and then I was like, “Okay, whatever happens, happens.” It’s not like Maxine has to be good at it, but I tried.

It’s so brilliant because it just keeps going.

WIIG: It goes on for a long time, and I feel like it was maybe four in the morning when we shot that. I’m sure everyone was loving that I was making whale calls when everyone just wanted to go home.

That ‘Palm Royale’ Cliffhanger Leaves the Possibilities for Season 2 Wide Open

The season ends in a very dramatic way. Ricky, do you know what your character’s fate is? Kristen, do you have any idea what would come next? Have you guys talked about a possible Season 2?

WIIG: We’re hoping.

MARTIN: Hopefully, Apple TV+ is listening. We hope so. The cliffhanger is amazing, isn’t it?

WIIG: Not to give it away, but Ricky and I drove off in a car just like Grease, up into the sky, and we turn around and wave at everybody. Spoiler!

What was the reaction to reading the finale script and getting to an ending like that where you don’t even know the status of your character?

MARTIN: And you don’t care because it’s been such an amazing experience.

WIIG: There’s such a trust with the writers.

MARTIN: They were behind the cameras, throughout the whole season, working with us. They were changing and being creative as we were being creative. So, it could go in any way. It’s gonna be amazing, anywhere we go.

Palm Royale is available to stream on Apple TV+. Check out the trailer:

Watch on Apple TV+