[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Palm Royale Season 2 Episode 2 “Maxine Serves a Swerve.”]
Palm Royale‘s plots are wilder than the Pucci prints favored by the Palm Beach society women who populate this 1970-set, frothy, funny, feminist drama from executive producers Abe Sylvia and Laura Dern.
Key to the second episode’s labyrinthine developments for social climber Maxine Dellacorte (Kristen Wiig) and her frenemies was a new pairing; FBI agent Virginia Lyons (Amber Chardae Robinson) deputized Ann Holiday (Mindy Cohn), the society editor of The Shiny Sheet, Palm Beach’s gossip rag. We dished with the new crime fighters.
In Season 1, Virginia was working at a women’s bookstore. The Season 2 premiere revealed her as an FBI agent. When did you find out her secret?
Amber Chardae Robinson: The middle of the first season. We were supposed to reveal it in the Season 1 finale, but Abe was like, nah, let’s hold off. I was like, rats, but okay. In the premiere, it was a big moment for Virginia because, mask off. She’s also still trying to almost hide that identity from certain people. It’s been such an exciting ride to have this little secret.
Laura Dern, Mindy Cohn, Julia Duffy and Kristen Wiig — ‘Palm Royale’
Apple TV
Why did Ann want to be Virginia’s deputy?
Mindy Cohn: Probably most reporters feel that they could be on some kind of crime unit. The research, the people skills, come on, we’ve got it. For her, it was a natural go-to, and I’m so delighted by it, that she doesn’t just observe and report on the story, but she’s part of it.
Virginia tells Ann she joined the FBI because she thought if she could get on the inside, she could protect her community after the shootings of Martin Luther King and Fred Hampton. Amber, what was that like to shoot?
Robinson: It was one of my favorite scenes to shoot. You get to see who Virginia is. She represents so many people that look like her. Being part of an organization like the FBI at this time is very strategic. I worked very closely with Abe and Laura about, “We have to be careful about what we’re saying, and we have to be careful about how we position Virginia because at this time, we were losing a lot of our revolutionaries at the hands of the FBI.” I wanted to make sure that she was aware of the cost that it took for her to be here and what her objective was. It was important to represent my people in the best way.
In that same scene they discuss how Ann isn’t an insider either.
Cohn: They’re both “other,” and that’s also talked about by the grace of Abe Sylvia, who created this beautiful scene. I love shooting with Amber, where Ann talks about never being able to be a part of the club, even if I wanted to, because I’m Jewish — and Amber is obviously on the outside. I love that these characters show “other,” but become very instrumental in what happens in the season and are welcomed into these society ladies’ lives. They don’t just need them; they start to really like them and love them. There’s something we need right now in that.
At the end of the episode, it was clear there was a new mystery on the horizon. What’s next for this duo?
Cohn: They’re in pursuit of a certain someone who we all love and admire, who is Palm Royale’s devil. In doing so, they learn more about her background and how brilliant she is at evading everyone and being ahead of everyone. I see a new detective show in our future.
Robinson: Virginia is kind of the underdog in the FBI because she’s a woman and she’s African American. So, for once she gets to take the wheel and teach Ann, in a sense, how to get this case done.
Will Maxine help or hurt their sleuthing?
Robinson: She does both at the same time. But she has a good heart, and that’s why we love her.
Palm Royale, Wednesdays, Apple TV
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