Welcome to my Monday Newsletter! Today I am looking at Palm Royale and 3 Body Problem plus the latest episodes of The Girls on the Bus, Manhunt and more!
Apple TV+ debuted its star-studded satire Palm Royale this past week and the response from critics has been decidedly mixed to negative. I would say I lean more on the positive side on this one. Of the three episodes that premiered, I thought the first and third worked well and the second one didn't as much. The story is set in 1969 and centers on Maxine Simmons (Kristen Wiig) trying to break into Palm Beach high society, littered with snooty women played by the likes of Allison Janney, Leslie Bibb, Julia Duffy and more.
The show is very visually strong from its stylish credits to its candy-coated fashion. There's definitely some Desperate Housewives vibes from a Mrs. Maisel era. The first episode was primarily a two-hander between Wiig and Bibb but they were both pretty strong throughout. Kristen Wiig is fully committed to making this show and her character work even when they really shouldn't. I was pretty good with the tone, which I thought was pretty consistent through the first three episodes. I do worry it will be too much of the same thing (a comedic type of Revenge with Wiig trying to infiltrate in different ways) but it also felt sort of episodic by the time we got to the third episode, which is a good thing.
