‘All I ever wanted was to be a somebody in this world. But there’s a catch when a woman wants to be a somebody... and that catch is everyone else.’ This voiceover begins a glossy, glitzy and glamorous opening episode of the Palm Beach-set comedy-drama which arrives in 1969 with America edging towards the culture wars which continue to rage today. That this narration is delivered over images of its speaker Maxine (Kristen Wiig) possibly in trouble underwater suggests that things might not turn out for the best.

Is she drowning or just having a vigorous paddle? Has she already died, and are we in Desperate Housewives deceased-narrator territory? And who among the wealthy sorts that hang out at the exclusive Palm Royale club might be responsible for her suffering a watery demise? There are plenty suspects to choose from: Allison Janney is the humblebragging anti-cancer campaigner Evelyn; Leslie Bibb as Dinah the less-than-loyal wife of an ambassador; or maybe even Ricky Martin’s Robert, a Korean War veteran and Palm Royale security guard who is clearly fed up with Maxine after the first five minutes.

This light-hearted romp with very jaunty animated opening credits has dashes of Only Murders In The Building and splashes of Why Women Kill where dastardly deeds are done with a smile and a wink, and where no one needs to clean up the bloody mess left behind by a gruesome crime. Maybe in a world being constantly bombarded by horrendous real-life terrors, this is the kind of fictional violence viewers can more readily tolerate right now in the comfort of their living rooms.

Palm Royale starts on Apple TV+, Thursday 20 March.