Natasha Lyonne is still one Hell of a sleuth.
Rian Johnson’s “Poker Face” was my favorite TV show of 2023 because of the directions it took and the big stars who delivered the goods. If you recall, Natasha Lyonne plays Charlie Cale, a Vegas casino waitress, who has the ability to tell if someone is lying. Even she herself can’t explain it quickly, but I’m sure she would get vomited on if she met Ana de Armas’ character in Rain Johnson’s “Knives Out.” And in each episode, she ends up playing detective with different cases and different sets of stars.
Three episodes have been released on Peacock so far, and so far, this season has been as entertaining as the first season. I’m glad no episode has to act like spoiler alerts and tries a different approach in the sleuth genre. This is known as howcatchthem, reverse whodunit, and inverted detective story. Either name goes.
In the first episode, we have Cynthia Erivo in five roles, four of them are quadruplets who were former child stars, and Jasmine Guy is their cruel and greedy dying mother. This one is a fun start, especially when Erivo goes for multiple roles, and when Guy (who is a fun actress to get to know) is given some material to work with.
In the second episode, we have a movie being filmed in a funeral home. Giancarlo Esposito plays the owner of the place, while Katie Holmes is his wife, who decides to divorce him. This one is kind of haunting, especially with Santo and Johnny’s “Sleepwalk” playing.
And in the third episode, we have Charlie caught in the middle of a sting operation between the mob and the FBI. Rhea Perlman and Richard Kind are among the mobsters, while John Mulaney and Simon Helberg are among the FBI. Any one of these people could be a mole, and this episode totally earns the title: “Whack-A-Mole.”
And this season will also feature more stars like David Alan Grier, Awkwafina, Jason Ritter, Kumail Nanjiani, John Cho, Taylor Schilling, and Geraldine Viswanathan. So, I wonder what the next few will unfold for us.
The thing I find most interesting about this series is how each episode uses big stars and how the characters they have are irredeemable. And like Johnson’s “Knives Out” movies, “Poker Face” has fun with the twists and turns and the detective games the main character engages in. Lyonne (who also directs a few episodes this season) still delivers with the right sassy attitude and consistency and the cast is universally excellent and energetic. This yet another fun season of this show.
First Three Episodes Streaming on Peacock
