Carol Burnett wants to quit acting

Bang Showbiz on Jan 15, 2026

Published in Women

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Carol Burnett wants to quit acting now she's in her 90s.

The 92-year-old comedian/actress returned to the small screen in 2024 with a regular role in Apple TV Plus series Palm Royale as well as recent guest appearance in Hacks and Frasier, but Carol has admitted she now wants to wind down her onscreen work so she can focus on jobs ""behind the scenes".

When asked about her recent career resurgence, she told The Hollywood Reporter: "It started when I did Better Call Saul, and that was a wonderful experience because I knew [creator] Vince Gilligan and was a big fan of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

"That whole crew had been working together for 15 years, so it was a well-oiled machine. I had a great time doing that. And then on the heels of that, Palm Royale was dessert."

However, Carol is adamant she's unlikely to take on any more acting roles unless something really special comes along.

She added: "But unless it was something unbelievable that I could not refuse, I would much rather now be behind the scenes.

"I've got a couple of things we're working on with one of our producers of Palm Royale, Katie [O'Connell Marsh], and we've written a few things, so we're hoping that we can get a series with one of them, and then a film with another one.

"So I'm very excited about doing that and just being behind the scenes, not having to put on make-up and just say, okay, here's some dark glasses and a baseball cap. Let's go to work."

Carol also admitted she only accepted a role on Palm Royale because it gave her the chance to work with Laura Dern, Kristen Wiig, Allison Janney and wasn't at all worried about her character being in a coma for the first few episodes.

She explained: "Three years ago when we started. I got the phone call from Abe Sylvia, who created the show and is showrunner and director, and he said: 'We're going to do this series called Palm Royale, and we'd love you to be in it.'

"I said: 'Well, who's in it?' He said: 'Laura Dern, Kristen Wiig, Allison [Janney].' I said,: 'Stop. Stop right there. Don't go any further. I don't care what you want me to do. I'm in because I want to be with these wonderful women.'

"And he said: 'Well, you're going to be in a coma like the first four episodes,' and I said: 'Listen, I don't mind getting up, going to work and getting back in bed and getting paid for it. That's okay with me'."