Allison Janney Predicted Working With Carol Burnett, Four Years Before Palm Royale Debut — Watch Interview
Allison Janney, decorated star of screen and stage, may also be a soothsayer.
It was four years ago, during an appearance on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, when the Palm Royale actress was asked whether she’d ever had the opportunity to work with her idol, Carol Burnett.
“No,” Janney answered. “But I know that I’m going to. I have a feeling that I will because I want it so badly.”
That was in January of 2020. Janney, who plays Palm Beach socialite Evelyn, would not be cast until May of 2022. And Burnett, who plays queen bee Norma Delacorte, was cast that June.
Janney is stunned when TVLine reminds her what she told Kimmel four years ago. Had she willed this lifelong dream into existence?
“I think I must have!” the seven-time Emmy winner exclaims in the interview above. “I mean, my whole life, I’ve thought I should work with her…. So maybe I have, [after] all these years, manifested this.
“But boy, I’ll tell you, I’m finally legitimized in my father’s eyes,” she shares. “This is the only thing I’ve ever done that he’s really wanted to know about, you know? He really loves Carol Burnett, too. He was very proud of me, and I’ve just been thrilled.”
Janney’s also thrilled to “brag” about her ongoing friendship with Burnett. “We play Wordle together,” she tells TVLine. “Every day I get a text from Carol Burnett, which just makes my whole day. We play Wordle and Connections together in the New York Times [app].”
Watch TVLine’s full interview with the cast and producers of Palm Royale — including Janney, Burnett, Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern and Leslie Bibb — via the video above, then grade the first three episodes via the following poll.
Allison Janney deserves all the things, so I’m glad this happened for her
Carol Burnett is quite possibly the funniest woman ever