Author Behind 'Palm Royale' Breaks Down Show vs. Book

Kristen Wiig in 'Palm Royale.'

Juliet McDaniel's "imaginary friends" are brought to life with a star-studded ensemble cast in Palm Royale. The new Apple TV+ series, starring Kristen Wiig, Allison Janney, Ricky Martin, Carol Burnett and more, is loosely based on the author's debut novel Mr. and Mrs. American Pie.

“Close to like the first 40 some pages of my book are a big part of this first season,” McDaniel told Parade, noting that the show is “definitely more of a prequel to” her book.

Showrunner Abe Sylvia had a vision for the series "that was really focused on sort of everything that happened before" McDaniel's novel took off. Although a lot of characters were taken straight from Mr. and Mrs. American Pie, there were new additions and changes for Palm Royale. McDaniel loved that the spirit of her book was "very much there running through all the characters, the new characters created for the show and previous characters."

Messy, complicated women are admittedly the author's favorite thing to write about. "I feel like until very recently, the kind of women that I've always been drawn to in books and in TV and in film, they were always kind of relegated to the wacky sidekick character," McDaniel shared.

"Like if I was watching anything that Joan Cusack was in, I always wanted to know more about her character, like what is going on with her? And I think that as the entertainment world has opened up more and we're seeing different perspectives and different [types] of female characters, and we're all sort of breaking out of the tropes. I just like women who have had to adapt to lousy situations or are coming into their own later in life," McDaniel continued. "...And it's just fun. I mean, let's face it, nutty people are fun and I like fun."

And fun is exactly what Palm Royale is. The hilarious underdog story, which debuted its first three episodes on March 20, follows Wiig's character Maxine, a former pageant queen, who is determined to secure her place in Palm Beach high society.

Continue reading to find out what McDaniel makes of the differences between the show and her book, and the new characters the author is excited about.

Author Juliet McDaniel on the biggest differences between her book and Palm Royale

Maxine is a former pageant queen in the show

McDaniel's debut novel was partly based on her grandmother's experience as Mrs. Minnesota 1957. "In the book, our main character, Maxine, it's all focused around her entering a beauty pageant for housewives, and in the series, at least in the first season here, she is a former pageant queen," McDaniel shared. "So, I really based it all around the stories I heard from my grandmother talking about being, you know, a 1950s housewife in competition with other 1950s housewives, where you had to keep house and look pretty while doing it for the judges."

Regardless, McDaniel believes Wiig was "absolutely perfect for" her imaginary friend Maxine.

"Maxine is, in the book and in the TV show, a woman who is just desperate for acceptance and to feel like she belongs in her world and she goes through life kind of yearning for that," McDaniel said. "Especially, you see in the first episode, she's just desperate to be...she's not so much desperate to be a social climber, she's desperate to have friends and people that she can count on and rely on. She's just somebody who's yearning for her place."

The novelist also based the book around a type of woman she's always loved. "Loud, brash, totally true-to-themselves women, who are out there and just trying to forge their way in the world, which is very much Maxine."

Related: Is a 'Bridesmaids' Sequel in the Works? What Kristen Wiig Has Said About it and More

The socialites are front-and-center in the series

The socialites, who are members of the exclusive Palm Royale club in the show, are not as "well-fleshed out" in McDaniel's book. "I love the whole cadre of the other socialites in [Palm Beach]," she said. "I have them very loosely there [in the book]. They're not as well fleshed-out."

The ladies in The Shiny Sheet are played by Leslie Bibb, Julia Duffy, Claudia Ferri and Allison Janney, whom McDaniel called "just incredible."

"[Janney] could not be more perfect in this. She's like better than I ever imagined the character being," McDaniel said. "It's just fun to watch them chew the scenery together and create these characters that are borderline evil and yet incredibly human. And I love it."

Related: Allison Janney Says Winning an Oscar Was a Bit Depressing

Maxine and Robert (played by Ricky Martin) actually interact in the show

The Robert in Mr. and Mrs. American Pie is different from the Robert played by Ricky Martin in Palm Royale. McDaniel pointed out, "He is a vastly different Robert in the book than he is in the series. Still gorgeous though."

She explained that there are "some core characteristics there, but Ricky really took him in a direction that is really awesome, especially for the TV show."

But he's "still the same poor guy," just different with the show being a prequel. McDaniel said, "In the book, Maxine leaves Palm Springs before Robert comes into her life, and they wanted to bring Robert into the show earlier. So there were some character changes that needed to be made. Honestly, for the better of the show, too, and he's great. He's a great character."

Norma (played by Carol Burnett) has a more substantial role on the show

Robert's relationship with Carol Burnett's character Norma is one of McDaniel's "favorite things about the series," but it's not at all similar to her novel. "Norma is more mentioned in the book and never really seen," McDaniel said. "Norma is a brand-new character. She is referred to and not in the greatest [of] ways, not in the kindest of terms. She really is somebody who comes alive in the series."

Learning that the comedy legend had joined the cast was "the biggest surprise" for McDaniel. The author was at a Sephora in L.A. when she received an email with the news. "I just screamed out loud at Sephora."

Next, Everything to Know About 'Palm Royale,' the Star-Studded Comedy Coming to Apple TV+