Style Over Substance: Where Palm Royale Went Wrong, and Where It Might Be Headed

In the mid-20th century, Slim Aarons had one goal: to photograph “attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places.” Decades later the New Englander’s photographs of celebrities, royalty, and high society still capture an aspirational slice of life, with images that draw you in and make you wonder what’s happening just beyond the edge.

That escapism and timelessness were key elements in creating the look of Palm Royale. Creator Abe Sylvia had always wanted to do a series inspired by the iconic photographer’s work, and the story of an outsider clawing her way into Palm Beach high society and its Shiny Sheet newspaper pages was the perfect fit.

“Those photographs work as high art because there’s no sense of the outside world in them,” Sylvia said in the production notes of the Apple TV+ show. “There’s always a little bit of danger and edge behind those beautiful façades. I wanted to tell the story of the women behind it.”

Maxine Delacourt (Kristen Wiig) sets that theme up beautifully in the premiere, in which she lies facedown, fully frocked, in a pool as the camera pans up to her body and the sunny sky above. “All I ever wanted was to belong. To be a somebody in this world,” she says in a voiceover as she floats along.

After nine episodes of social climbing, desperate ladies who lunch, bribes, secrets, and alliances, Maxine is still a nobody. More importantly, she’s hard to root for because there’s no sense of who she is beyond the balls and gowns. Sure, she longs to belong and to create her place in the world. But why Palm Beach and why these caricatures of women from a 1950s soap?

As it turns out, bringing a Slim Aarons photograph to life delivers more style than substance — or at least it does in the bubble of Palm Royale.

Who was Slim Aarons?

George “Slim” Aarons got his nickname from his height (he was 6’4). His portraits of the elite in a postwar era are sheer elegance and longing. The beautiful men and women he photographed were equally matched by the opulent backdrops, creating a colorful portrait of ease and luxury.

Beauty, relaxation and a carefree existence were pillars of the photographs, taken in a time before stylists and personal assistants existed. These were celebrities and royalty in their natural habitats, and people wanted in on that privilege and leisure.

Throughout his career, Aarons photographed everyone from Clark Gable and the Paleys to Louis Armstrong and several princes and princesses. He got his start during World War II when he enlisted in the Army and became a photographer for Yank magazine. He won a bunch of awards including a Purple Heart, and when he returned to America he came up with his signature mantra: to only photograph attractive people who were doing attractive things in attractive places.

He did so until his death in 2006. Over his career, Aarons’ work populated the pages of glossy magazines including Life, Vanity Fair, and Town & Country. To this day his work is considered a culturally significant time capsule of a lost era.

How Slim Aarons influenced the look of Palm Royale

Palm Royale is designed to emulate an Aarons vignette, with non-stop shots of old Hollywood style. To achieve that, production designer Jon Carlos used lots of long and wide shots that feature bold colors and environments.

“These are loud characters and the spaces they were inhabiting needed to reflect that,” Carlos explained in the production notes. “Palm Beach is its own world. Everything is hyperbolic, but it's real and grounded in its craziness and eccentricity. We wanted to make sure we walked that line very carefully, never going too far, in that the environment overshadowed the story.”

Unfortunately, style is the selling point of Palm Royale. Although the series favors a campy tone that plays into the lifestyles of the rich and famous, it fails to achieve the same social commentary as a show like The White Lotus. Those who are meant to be the outsiders, and therefore mirrors to the powder keg issues happening around the world, are also sucked into the Palm Beach orbit. There, the juxtaposition falls flat.

Sure, it’s a beautiful world to look at and the story is full of soapy twists and turns that contribute to the surreal landscape. Being named Queen of the Season matters very much to this tiny group of women. But overall the narrative fails to deliver nuances and depth. Who are these women really, what have they gone through, why are they so desperate to belong, and what have they done to get there? It’s all a mystery — much like a Slim Aarons photograph.

Where is Palm Royale headed in its finale?

Heading into the 10th episode, the stakes are high. Maxine is dressed and ready to welcome guests to the coveted Beach Ball, which Evelyn (Allison Janney) is now co-hosting. Dinah (Leslie Bibb) got the ring, therefore securing her financial status next season. Mitzi (Kaia Gerber) is sticking around, which means her affair with Maxine’s husband Douglas (Josh Lucas) will inevitably surface. Mary (Julia Duffy) is on her way to kill the president, having taken care of Linda (Laura Dern). And Norma (Carol Burnett) has revealed her big secret to Robert (Ricky Martin): she can walk and talk, and she’s got big plans for the night.

The whole season has been building up to this Beach Ball, and all the pieces are in place for utter chaos. But what is the ultimate goal? Is it for Maxine to finally be accepted? For the ladies to kick her out once and for all? To achieve some level of sisterhood, in which the characters find common ground and learn to co-exist, at least for a while?

Considering the ladies have done nothing but argue and tear each other down all season, it’s hard to imagine the latter. Even Mitzi, who is supposed to be Maxine’s only real friend, has betrayed her. And with Norma functioning at full capacity and seemingly ready for a third attempt at murdering Maxine, it also doesn’t seem likely the heroine of this story will have a happy ending.

Instead, it feels as though this series might wrap the way it began: in desperate search of belonging and purpose in the TV landscape. Sure, Palm Royale has been fun and pretty to watch. It’s never taken itself seriously, and the powerful actors at the center of the drama have played scorned women convincingly. But at the end of the day Palm Royale is as full of empty calories as an ambrosia salad. It never ventured beyond the surface to deliver on that deeper level.

When viewers leave its world it will inevitably be without satiation, much like an observer might walk away from a Slim Aarons photograph, wondering what was really happening beyond that lens.

The Palm Royale Season 1 finale drops May 8 on Apple TV+. Join the discussion about the show in our forums.

Amber Dowling is a Toronto-based freelancer, CCA member and former TCA president. Her work has appeared in Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Metacritic, The Globe and Mail, Playback and more. Follow her on Instagram: @amber__dowling.