During a 2018 interview, The Wall Street Journal asked Aretha Franklin for a “lightning round” of her opinions on other women musicians. When the outlet brought up Taylor Swift, Franklin, in a now widely-memed response, merely replied, “Great gowns, beautiful gowns.” Replace “gowns” with “caftans,” and this sentiment also sums up the Apple TV dramedy Palm Royale’s beautifully crafted yet hollow slog of a second season.

Loosely adapted from Juliet McDaniel’s novel Mr. and Mrs. American Pie, Abe Sylvia’s (Dead To Me) series stars Kristen Wiig as plucky newcomer Maxine Dellacorte. Raised in a Tennessee orphanage, Maxine dreams of ascending to the upper echelons of Florida’s ultra-wealthy, late ’60s Palm Beach community. The trouble is, her husband Douglas (Josh Lucas)—the sole heir to the po

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