Carol Burnett Jokes That, at 90, She Only Has 1 Thing Left to Do: 'George Clooney!'

Carol Burnett has had an impressive Hollywood career. Even as she looks forward to turning 90 later this month, the comedic actress shows no signs of slowing down. She'll appear in the upcoming Apple TV+ series Palm Royale.

The only thing left on her to-do list? "George Clooney," Burnett playfully tells PEOPLE in this week's issue cover story.

She also has an idea for a TV series based on her time living in The Rehearsal Club, an all-girls boarding house for women in theater in New York City.

"I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't had The Rehearsal Club," Burnett says. "Five girls rooming in one room — we were all different — and each one would have their own story. It's like Friends, but takes place in the '50s with girls wanting to be in show business. I think it could be a good series. I write, so I might do a treatment of it and see if somebody would be interested."

Burnett says she "enjoyed" her recent turn on Better Call Saul and "loved" working with Laura Dern, Allison Janney and Kristin Wiig on Palm Royale.

"Allison and I Wordle," the two-time Tony nominee says. "I Wordle every morning."

On her April 26 birthday, NBC will honor Burnett and her impressive career with Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love. Burnett found filming the two-hour special — which features Dern, 56, Wiig, 49, Lily Tomlin, Marisa Tomei, Sofia Vergara and more — "very touching."

"I'm grateful for the nice things people say," Burnett continues. "It was a wonderful evening."

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Burnett's close friend and Carol Burnett Show costar Vicki Lawrence, who played her sister on the variety show, also attended the special. Burnett remembers giving Lawrence, now 74, her start in the industry after Lawrence sent her a piece of fan mail.

"She was 17 years old, but I felt there was something there," Burnett says. "I remember the network at one point said, 'She's a little rough.' I said, 'So are diamonds at first.' But we saw something in her."

Burnett teases that Lawrence received a standing ovation when she took the stage while shooting the special. "My little Vicki," Burnett says. "I was so thrilled."

Burnett has also been the benefactor of some acts of kindness throughout her nearly 90 years.

"I wanted to go to UCLA badly," she recalls. "My grandmother said we couldn't afford it. Our rent was $30 a month and we barely made that. Guess what the tuition was at UCLA in 1951? $43. One morning there was a letter in the [mail] slot. It had my name typewritten. I opened it and there was a $50 bill. To this day, I don't know who gave me that."

Burnett went on to stack her resume with six Emmys, six Golden Globes, one Grammy and a Kennedy Center Honor. She considers The Carol Burnett Show her greatest career accomplishment.

"I decided to hang it up because we'd done just about everything I could think of," she says of why the variety show wrapped in 1978 after 11 seasons. "It's nice to leave while you're ahead, and so before they started flicking the lights on and off, I wanted to say goodnight and thank you."

For more on Carol Burnett, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here.

Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love airs April 26 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and streams on Peacock the next day.