Palm Royale, a dramedy about a lady trying to break into high society in Palm Beach in 1969, premieres on Apple TV Plus March 20. Kristen Wiig plays the woman, Maxine, and is an executive producer. 

Allison Janney, Laura Dern, Ricky Martin and Josh Lucas are also in the cast and Carol Burnett is a guest star, as is Bruce Dern. (Laura Dern and Bruce Dern play, fittingly, a daughter and a father.) There are 10 episodes, and three stream on premiere day. 

As Maxine attempts to cross that line between the haves and the have-nots, the show asks, “How much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice to get what someone else has?” 

Palm Royale was featured in a panel at the TCA Winter Press Tour in January. Abe Sylvia, showrunner and executive producer, was asked about balancing the comedy and drama in the show. “I think the world is so delicious and all of these people are so delicious that we could spend three hours an episode with them and still be wildly entertained,” he said. 

Sylvia credited Wiig with deftly balancing the laughs and the heartache. “She is a once-in-a-generation talent who is able to thread the loop between comedy and silliness, and then break your heart in the next moment,” he said. “There’s real pathos to what she does and it’s a unique talent.”

The series is loosely based on the novel Mr. and Mrs. American Pie by Juliet McDaniel. 

Besides Sylvia and Wiig, the executive producers are Laura Dern and Jayme Lemons for Jaywalker Pictures, Katie O’Connell Marsh, Tate Taylor and John Norris for Wyolah Films, Sharr White and Sheri Holman. 

Burnett said she took on the project in large part because of the cast. “All I had to do is hear who was going to be in it. Kristen, Laura, Ricky, it’s just an incredible cast,” she said. “I didn’t even have to read the script. I just wanted to work with these people and get to know them, and go out to dinner, and have some fun.”

Burnett added: “Of course, in the first few episodes, I’m in a coma, and I still got paid. So, I mean, it was a slam dunk.”

Palm Royale offered some unique sets, Burnett noted, that she was sorry to depart. “Just the look of it is incredible, the scenery and all, and then with all the costumes, I have never seen anything …” she said. “It's better than any great, big motion picture that you would see. It is eye candy.”

Palm Royale reviews have been mixed. USA Today said, “There are too many ideas, and the series can't focus on any one successfully.”

The Guardian said, “finally, a proper outlet for Kristen Wiig’s talents.”

Like Burnett, The Washington Post loved the show’s sets and cast, but not much else. “Gorgeous sets. Great cast. So-so story,” it said. 

NBC airs Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love April 26. The two-hour special, airing on Burnett’s 90th birthday, will be filmed at Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles. Guests include Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Cher, Ellen DeGeneres, Julie Andrews, Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern, Lily Tomlin, Marisa Tomei, Sofia Vergara, Steve Carell, Susan Lucci, Tracee Ellis Ross and Vicki Lawrence. 

The event will include musical performances from Bernadette Peters, Billy Porter, Jane Lynch, Katy Perry and Kristin Chenoweth, among others. They will include “Old Friends,” dedicated to Burnett’s 60-year friendship with Julie Andrews; “Only an Octave Apart,” which Burnett sang alongside Beverly Sills in a 1976 television special, and Burnett’s songs from the Annie movie. 

“It’s hard to imagine anyone in television more beloved than Carol Burnett,” said Jen Neal, executive VP, live events and specials, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “To throw this wonderful birthday celebration is clearly our honor, and we can’t wait to share the love that we all have for her with all her adoring fans.” 

The special will share some of the most memorable moments of Burnett’s career, including her Broadway debut in “Once Upon a Mattress,” her early appearances on The Garry Moore Show; her films The Four Seasons, A Wedding and Annie; and sketch comedy series The Carol Burnett Show. 

“I’m so excited NBC decided to throw me a birthday party and invited all of my closest friends,” Burnett said. “I can’t wait to look back at so many wonderful moments throughout my career, I feel so lucky to share this night with everyone.”

Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love is executive produced by Burnett, Brian Miller, Steve Sauer, Paul Miller and Baz Halpin, and Mark Bracco & Linda Gierahn of Silent House Productions. ■

The Decades network offers a Carol Burnett marathon over Christmas that it is calling A Christmas Carol. The three-day marathon of Carol Burnett and Friends starts at noon ET on Christmas Eve and ends the morning of December 26.

The cast includes Vicki Lawrence, Harvey Korman, Lyle Waggoner and Tim Conway. Burnett's guests include Betty White, Rock Hudson, Sammy Davis Jr., Cher and Dick Van Dyke.

The program debuted as The Carol Burnett Show in 1967, and was relaunched for syndication in 1977 as Carol Burnett and Friends.

Moving on to yew year’s, a Twilight Zone marathon happens on Decades. A Toast to Twilight starts at noon ET New Year’s Eve and continues until the morning of January 2.

Rod Serling created and hosted the show, which ran from 1959 to 1964. CBS All Access offered its own The Twilight Zone series for two seasons.

Part of Weigel Broadcasting, Decades has offered A Christmas Carol and A Toast to Twilight over the holidays for the past five years. ■

Carol Burnett will guest star on Better Call Saul this season, playing a character named Marion. The sixth and final season of the AMC drama began April 18. 

Burnett said Better Call Saul is her favorite show. 

Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, stars of Breaking Bad, will play their Walter White and Jesse Pinkman characters on Saul this season. 

The show returns for its final six episodes starting July 11, concluding August 15. 

Bob Odenkirk plays Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman. 

The Carol Burnett Show ran 1967 to 1978. 

“I’m thrilled to be a part of my favorite show,” said Burnett. 

Also in the Saul cast are Jonathan Banks, Rhea Seehorn, Giancarlo Esposito and Patrick Fabian. 

The executive producers are Peter Gould, Vince Gilligan, Mark Johnson, Melissa Bernstein, Thomas Schnauz, Gordon Smith, Alison Tatlock, Diane Mercer and Michael Morris. ■

Broadcast network Decades celebrates Christmas with “A Christmas Carol”--not the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and some ghosts, but a Carol Burnett and Friends marathon. The stunt begins at 12 p.m. ET on December 25 and ends the morning of December 27. 

Originally airing as The Carol Burnett Show in 1967, the program was repackaged as Carol Burnett and Friends for syndication. Besides Burnett, Vicki Lawrence, Harvey Korman, Lyle Waggoner and Tim Conway are in the cast. Guests include Betty White, Rock Hudson, Tim Conway, Sammy Davis Jr., Cher, Dick Van Dyke and Maggie Smith. 

A few days later, Decades offers a Twilight Zone marathon starting on New Year’s Eve and concluding January 3. The stunt, referred to as “A Toast to Twilight,” begins 6 a.m. ET on December 31 and ends 7 a.m. January 3. Fully 119 episodes will air, including one-hour episodes from season four. 

Created and hosted by Rod Serling, The Twilight Zone aired from 1959-1964, offering a mix of science fiction, horror and fantasy. 

This marks the fourth year that Decades will feature “A Toast to Twilight” as a new year’s marathon. 

Decades airs vintage TV shows, including The Abbott and Costello Show, The Bob Newhart Show and Family Affair. “With Decades, viewers can travel through a variety of eras to sample and enjoy an incredible variety of television favorites every day,” goes its mission statement. ■ 

Veteran TV personality Carol Burnett will receive a lifetime achievement award named in her honor during the Jan. 6 Golden Globes awards ceremony, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced Tuesday.

The Carol Burnett Award will honor the highest level of achievement in television. Burnett, a five-time Golden Globe winner, will accept the first-ever honor during the Globes’ live awards presentation, which will air on NBC. Burnett is most widely known for her variety/comedy series, The Carol Burnett Show, which aired on CBS from 1967 to 1978 and received 25 Emmy Awards. It was named in 2007 by Time magazine as one of 100 Best Television Shows of All Time.

“For more than 50 years, comedy trailblazer Carol Burnett has been breaking barriers while making us laugh,” said HFPA President Meher Tatna said in a statement. “She was the first woman to host a variety sketch show, The Carol Burnett Show. She was also the first woman to win both the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and Kennedy Center Honors. And now we add another first to her running list: the first recipient – and namesake – of the new Golden Globe top honor for achievement in television, the Carol Burnett Award. We are profoundly grateful for her contributions to the entertainment industry and honored to celebrate her legacy forever at the Golden Globes.”