Natasha Lyonne, Poker Face
PeacockPoker Face wears its Columbo influences on its sleeve, from its roster of famous guest stars to its “howcatchem” format, which introduces each episode’s murderer before embarking on the resulting investigation. Cast as a successor to Peter Falk’s quizzical L.A. detective, Natasha Lyonne‘s Charlie Cale is an amateur sleuth with an emphasis on the amateur — a chatty, colorfully dressed drifter who is currently on the run from the mob. In keeping with the show’s lighthearted tone, she views their periodic assassination attempts as a minor obstacle on the road to life’s true purpose: making friends and chilling out.
Two seasons into this nomadic lifestyle, Charlie has an unerring talent for locating bizarre murders — always by accident, which is also how she tends to solve them. Unlike Columbo, she isn’t a genius in disguise. She’s honestly kind of a dumbass. Despite copious practice, she still hasn’t hammered out a solid strategy for using her signature lie-detecting superpower. Often confronting suspects with zero backup or escape route, she bumbles her way in and out of crime scenes with spirited optimism. That’s all part of her charm, paired with a supporting cast of equally overconfident and/or kooky suspects, who invariably display all the wiles of a Scooby-Doo villain.
Poker Face Season 2
Like
- Natasha Lyonne brings her unique A-game as Charlie Cale
- The fantastic roster of guest stars
- The impressive range of ridiculous and convoluted murders
- Every mystery offers something unexpected
Dislike
- Some episodes can feel a little too lightweight compared to Columbo
Modeled around creator Rian Johnson‘s passion for elaborate mystery stories (Knives Out), Poker Face eschews the values of traditional cop-centric crime dramas, concluding most episodes without an arrest. Charlie Cale thrives on the outskirts of society and cares more about kindness and unofficial justice than the letter of the law. When the police do get involved in her escapades, they’re either portrayed as trigger-happy buffoons or (at best) well-meaning individuals in a fundamentally flawed system.
One highlight this season features comedian John Mulaney as a smug FBI agent, embroiled in a chaotic sting operation where everyone involved is a different flavor of incompetent, tripping over each other like the Keystone Kops. (This episode is also home to a standout moment in silly Poker Face dialogue: a scene where Cheers star Rhea Perlman, playing a disgruntled mob boss, exclaims, “You want me to rat on my mole like a snake?!”)
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Like the heist series Leverage or CBS’s Elsbeth, Poker Face couples mild social commentary with a sincere enthusiasm for the absurd, continually upping the ante on the farcical nature of its murders. Charlie hops between an endless supply of quirky minimum wage jobs, clocking in at apple orchards and alligator sanctuaries while living out of her car. Emphatically off-grid and offline, she lends herself well to a retro style of investigation, relying on the gift of the gab rather than forensic science.
After establishing the Poker Face formula last season, this creative team has settled into a reliable groove — occasionally spicing things up with misleading suspects who technically tell the truth, and thus fail to ping Charlie’s bullsh– radar. With a vague nod toward continuity, this season sees Charlie grapple with her spiritual journey on the road, but to be frank, we’re not really here for deep themes. The main draw is the larger-than-life guest characters and their cartoonish criminal exploits, starring a string of beloved actors who calibrate their performances for maximum whimsy.
Kicking things into gear with an outlandish sororicide, Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo (Wicked) plays multiple characters in the Season 2 premiere, donning several different wigs for a byzantine inheritance feud. Later on, we’re treated to guest parts for (among many others) Giancarlo Esposito, Steve Buscemi, and John Cho: a delightful roll call of scene partners for Natasha Lyonne’s casually goofy humor.
Measuring up to Columbo is tough, of course. This show is such a direct homage that it copies the yellow typeface from Columbo‘s credits sequence, and the resulting comparisons aren’t always flattering. Poker Face just isn’t as clever as the high points of its iconic predecessor, but if you enjoyed Season 1, you’ll know what to expect — and you’ll undoubtedly enjoy what you get this season. The show’s chief priority is to have fun, a quality that comes through in the personality of its lead character, the scenery-chewing performances of its guest cast, and the ambitious ridiculousness of its writing. When it comes to case-of-the-week storytelling, this team is at the top of their game, offering something more enriching than typical crime procedurals, with no shortage of imagination and heart.
Premieres: Thursday, May 8 on Peacock with three episodes, followed by new episodes weekly
Who’s in it: Natasha Lyonne, Rhea Perlman, Simon Helberg, Cynthia Erivo, Giancarlo Esposito, Steve Buscemi
Who’s behind it: Rian Johnson (creator, writer, director), Tony Tost (showrunner), Natasha Lyonne (executive producer, writer, director)
For fans of: Columbo, Psych, Knives Out, Leverage, Elsbeth
How many episodes we watched: 5 of 12
