A new television series coming in December will be the latest show that centers on Palm Beach and its environs. But this time, it will feature real people on reality TV.
“Members Only: Palm Beach,” on Netflix, is billed as a series that will reveal “the Southern socialites at the center of all the opulence.”
Set within exclusive enclaves of Palm Beach County, the eight-episode promises to follow a group of women who “navigate unspoken rules, inherited traditions and high-stakes hierarchies of America’s most rarefied social circles,” according to Netflix.
To do so, the network says, the series will show how in a manicured world of privilege and private clubs, “reputations are built over brunch and alliances shift over champagne.”
In its release, Netflix did not say who will appear on the show.
The network’s series joins a few others that have focused the attention of viewers on Palm Beach and Palm Beach County.
“Palm Royale” stars Kristen Wiig as Maxine Simmons, a woman desperate to become part of Palm Beach society in 1969. The cast includes Carol Burnett as Norma, Allison Janney as Evelyn, Ricky Martin as Robert and Laura Dern as Linda. The series, which premiered in 2024 on Apple TV+, is loosely based on the book “Mr. and Mrs. American Pie,” by Juliet McDaniel.
The show portrays Palm Beach society in the 1960s, with lounge chairs next to the pristine blue water of a swimming pool, and ladies relaxing under pink-and-white umbrellas.
Along with a few aerial shots of the island, it features five locations that Palm Beachers would recognize: The Bath & Tennis Club, Mar-a-Lago, Royal Poinciana Way, The President of Palm Beach condominium, and The Breakers Palm Beach Resort.
Filming reportedly was completed for Season 2 but it is unclear when those episodes will air.
HBO’s “The Gilded Age,” now in its third season, has put the grand dames of Palm Beach into the spotlight.
Its creator, Julian Fellowes, has said that the fictional Russell family, including the character Gladys Russell, is inspired by the Vanderbilt family and Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan, the socialite daughter of suffragette Alva Erskine Belmont and railroad tycoon William Vanderbilt.
“Apples Never Fall,” based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty, premiered in 2024 on Peacock.
Though the series is set in the Palm Beaches, it was shot in Queensland, Australia.
The show features a couple, Stan and Joy Delaney (Sam Neill and Annette Bening), who retire from their successful Delaney Tennis Academy. After Joy disappears, her four children search for answers and authorities investigate, in a journey that includes local details — from apparent nods to West Palm Beach, The Palm Beach Post and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
The show was billed as a limited series so a second season is unlikely.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Netflix reality TV show ‘Members Only: Palm Beach’ to follow socialites
Reporting by Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
