Can’t agree on what to watch together? Consider putting on your Poker Face.
Peacock’s acclaimed mystery-of-the-week series created by Rian Johnson (best known for Star Wars: The Last Jedi and, most relevant here, the Glass Onion films) and starring Natasha Lyonne, is finally back for another season after two long years. That’s great news for fans of human lie detector Charlie Cale and her knack for catching crafty criminals. Also for anyone who enjoys old-school detective shows. sharp writing, character-driven storytelling, and big-name guest stars showcasing their talent in new ways. In short, there’s just about something in it for everyone. And wait until you see this season’s cast.
The Columbo Connection
In case you didn’t catch it the first time around, or need a refresher (two years is a long time), Poker Face is a throwback crime drama in the mold of Columbo and other vintage detective shows of the ’70s and ’80s. In fact, it borrows its format—and even the style of its opening titles—directly from the Peter Falk-starring series about a savvy LAPD detective who’s constantly underestimated due to his bumbling facade.
Like Columbo, Charlie isn’t usually seen as a threat by the criminals until it’s too late. Also, as Columbo often did, Poker Face usually shows the crime being committed in the first 10 to 15 minutes of each episode. So instead of trying to figure out who did it, the audience spends the rest of the running time watching Charlie solve the crime. But Charlie has a special talent that Columbo didn’t—she can instantly tell, with 100 percent accuracy—when someone is lying.
A Season 1 Refresher
You don’t have to have seen any of Season 1 to understand what’s going on in the new season, though it certainly helps. And, really, why deny yourself the pleasure of enjoying the full scope of a fun and quirky show like this?
The series kicked off with Charlie investigating the murder of a friend and co-worker at a casino in Laughlin, Nevada. When she’s targeted by the casino’s mob-boss owner, she’s forced to go on the run in her classic Plymouth Barracuda and take odd jobs to get by. Each episode features a new town, new characters, and a new mystery for Charlie to solve while staying under the radar of both law enforcement and the mob goons on her tail.
Season one featured a wide variety of settings and backdrops, from a retirement home to a go-kart racetrack, from dinner theater to heavy metal, from the plains of Texas to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. And through it all, there’s the someone-for-everyone list of guest stars: Adrian Brody, Lil Rel Howery, Chloë Sevigny, Judith Light (who won an Emmy for her performance), Ellen Barkin, Tim Blake Nelson, Charles Melton, Nick Nolte, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Stephanie Hsu, and several other familiar faces.
Upping the Ante
You will not find a roster of stars as big as Season 2’s in any other streaming series. From this year’s Oscar winner Cynthia Erivo to legends like Giancarlo Esposito, Rhea Perlman, David Alan Grier and Margo Martindale … to a who’s who of the top talent from across streaming hits: John Mulaney, Awkwafina, Alia Shawkat, Kumail Nanjiani, Jason Ritter, John Cho, Justin Theroux, Haley Joel Osment, Taylor Schilling, Ego Nwodim, Sam Richardson, BJ Novak, Gaby Hoffman, Melanie Lynskey, and Natasha Leggero, it’s as stacked as it gets.
Charlie’s ongoing story is the thin thread that runs through both seasons, but you can easily dip in and out of the episodes without having seen any of the others. That’s part of what makes it a good choice when you’re not ready to commit to a whole season. You might pick a different episode to start watching with the older generations —“Time of the Monkey” would be a good one—than you would with your kids—we’d recommend “The Future of the Sport” for the younger set. Other highlights include “The Orpheus Syndrome” and “Escape from Shit Mountain.”
The second season launched with three episodes, all now available on Peacock. Just watch the first two, and it will give you a good idea of what to expect from Poker Face. “The Game is a Foot” features a knockout performance by Erivo in multiple roles, while “Last Looks” boasts the always great Esposito opposite Katie Holmes. Each of them are self-contained murder mysteries, while the third episode, “Whack-A-Mole,” deals mainly with Charlie and her latest mob-boss nemesis, Beatrix Hasp, played by the ever versatile Rhea Perlman.
New episodes will continue to roll out one at a time over the next nine weeks. Just be sure to block out enough time if you’re planning a watch party with a partner, relatives, or friends, because one episode might not be enough — and after each episode’s crescendo, it’s too easy to dive right into the next one, and the one after that, and the one after that. You get the idea.
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