Carol Burnett still has the instincts and ideas that made her a comedy legend in the first place.
The 91-year-old star of Apple TV’s glitzy period dramedy “Palm Royale” personally pitched a new accessory for her character, Norma Dellacorte, in Season 2 – and even included an Easter egg that only the sharpest ears will catch.
“She texted me and she said, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun now that Norma is out and about, to make her even more imposing, if she had this really beautiful cane?’” series creator and showrunner Abe Sylvia exclusively told The Post ahead of the show’s return. “So that was Carol’s idea.”
The playful back-and-forth between him and the “Carol Burnett Show” alum didn’t end there.
“We were texting, and she said, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if that’s where she keeps her flask?’” he continued. “And I said, ‘No, no, no. She doesn’t have to hide her drinking; she’ll drink in public. That’s where Norma keeps her gun.’”
Burnett was immediately sold on the idea.
“Carol wrote back: ‘That’s brilliant, great,’” Sylvia recalled. “And so we had the prop department build a cane that can be a gun.”
But Norma’s custom cane isn’t the only place where the “Mama’s Family” star made her mark this season.
The comedy icon spontaneously let out one of her signature Tarzan yells while filming a scene — and it was included in the show’s final cut.
“It was pretty thrilling when we were shooting the scene where Norma’s driving a fan boat in the ocean,” he said. “We call action, the crane comes in past the boat, and Carol is sitting there, and she lets out the biggest Tarzan yell just for the crew. The whole crew clapped.”
Burnett, however, didn’t want the moment used on screen.
“She goes, ‘Okay, okay, don’t use that. Let’s do a real one,’” Sylvia remembered. “But of course, we did end up stealing the sound from that moment and slipping it into the series. So I encourage everybody to look out for it. It is there.”
In Season 1, Burnett also did the famous yell — this time, when Norma woke up from her comatose state in episode 4. “Honest to God, it wasn’t on purpose,” Burnett previously said. “But it happened, so they kept it in.”
“Palm Royale” premiered on Apple TV+ in March 2024. The series is set in 1969 Palm Beach and follows Kristen Wiig’s Maxine Dellacorte-Simmons, a social-climbing outsider desperate to infiltrate high society.
The show, loosely based on Juliet McDaniel’s 2018 novel “Mr. & Mrs. American Pie,” also stars Ricky Martin, Laura Dern, Allison Janney, Leslie Bibb and Josh Lucas.
Burnett plays Norma Dellacorte, the matriarch whose fortune and reputation loom large over Palm Beach’s elite.
In the first season, Norma spent most of her time in a coma, an immobile but scene-stealing presence as schemers circled her estate and inheritance.
“We always wanted a sort of Carol Burnett type, and I never thought in a million years she’d actually do it,” Sylvia told The Post. “And then our casting director, Kerry Barden, said all you can do is ask.”
“I was like, ‘Oh, okay, well, I don’t think she would ever do this,’” he continued. “And then she said yes immediately. It’s such a dream come true.”
Once Burnett signed on, Sylvia said that she naturally exceeded every expectation.
“I would cast Carol Burnett as anything, honestly,” he shared. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anybody get a laugh with just a little twitch of the face, lying still. But she did. Stealing scenes that she was literally sleeping through. That’s what a master she is.”
Burnett opened up about what led her to join “Palm Royale” during a chat with Forbes shortly after Season 1 concluded last year.
“Well, when they called me about doing it, I didn’t know what the story was or anything, but when they said the cast would include Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern, Allison Janney, Ricky Martin, Julia Duffy, I said, ‘Stop right there. I’m in – I don’t care what you want me to do,’” she told the outlet.
“I couldn’t say no, and when I heard what I would be doing, that was the cherry on top of the sundae,” the “Better Call Saul” actress added.
After “Palm Royale” was renewed for a second season in June 2024, it was announced that a few new faces would be joining as guest stars – including John Stamos and Patti LuPone.
Sylvia revealed that the “Full House” alum and Broadway star “slipped right in” to the world he created.
“Both John and Patti are such consummate actors, such masters of their craft, that they folded into the ensemble completely seamlessly,” he said.
As for what fans can expect from Season 2, Sylvia teased that he’s pushing the limits this time around.
“Now that I know all of the actors personally, these are all the places that I know they can go as artists,” he told The Post. “And I wanted to make sure with everybody that we went there.”
Season 2 of “Palm Royale” premieres on Apple TV+ on Nov. 12.
