I've been maintaining for ages now that Apple TV (which no longer has a "+" on the end, it would seem) is the best streaming service out there right now. It has a tremendous hit rate that seems to involve never putting out terrible shows, something Netflix and Prime Video simply cannot claim.
Here's a great example of what makes Apple TV impressive – another show that looks super beautiful and has some of the best costume design I've seen in ages. Yet it's one that I haven't had time to watch! Palm Royale's first season came out in early 2024, but it's already back for a second run, and you can check out its trailer below.
The show stars Kristen Wiig as Maxine Simmons, an underdog in a world of high society, trying to become someone of note in the cut-throat world of Palm Beach in the late 1960s. It's both a semi-realistic look at how the rich and famous had a world all of their own back then (and probably still do), and also a nice exploration of personal ambition mixed with soap opera twists and turns, from what I've been able to tell.
Now, we're in for a second season as Maxine tries to bounce back from some scandalous publicity near the end of the first set of episodes. She's far from the only character with a central role, at this point, though, and the trailer runs through a whole heap of situations to make it clear that there are going to be a whole heap of subplots this time around.
From steamy affairs to murder enquiries and powerplay machinations, it looks like the stakes will be significantly higher than just one person's glory this time out, but I can't help focussing on the look of it all. In just a two-minute trailer we get to see more costumes and fun sets than most shows get in their whole run, and that's the most enticing part of Palm Royale.
The new season starts on 12 November, which doesn't give me long enough to catch up all of the first one, but I'm going to stick it on my watchlist regardless. It looks like it could be a ravishing good time.
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