Poker Face (TV Series)

''Poker Face'' is an American crime comedy-drama television series created by Rian Johnson for the streaming service Peacock. Stylized as a "case-of-the-week" murder mystery series, it stars Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a woman with the innate ability to detect when people are lying, who finds herself solving murders as she travels across the United States.

Peacock announced the series in March 2021, with Lyonne attached and Johnson as director. Nora Zuckerman and Lilla Zuckerman were named as co-showrunners. The first season of ''Poker Face'' consisted of 10 episodes and debuted on January 26, 2023. In February 2023, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on May 8, 2025. The series has received critical acclaim. Lyonne was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Premise

''Poker Face'' is a murder mystery series stylized as a character-driven, case-of-the-week mystery, with each episode adapting the inverted detective story format popularized by ''Columbo''.

The series centers on Charlie Cale, a woman with an innate ability to detect lies, traveling across the United States on the run from a casino boss following a suspicious death. Along the way, she encounters colorful characters and solves homicides in a variety of settings.

Cast and characters

Main

* Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a woman with the uncanny ability to tell when people are lying

Recurring

* Benjamin Bratt as Cliff LeGrand, the head of security at the casino where Charlie works, with whom she finds herself at odds
* Simon Helberg as Luca Clark, an FBI agent who helped Charlie
* Rhea Perlman as Beatrix Hasp, Frost Sr.'s rival casino owner
* Steve Buscemi (voice) as Good Buddy, a CB radio user

Guest

Season 1

Season 2

Episodes

Season 1 (2023)

Season 2 (2025)

Production

Development

The project was announced in March 2021, with Rian Johnson serving as creator, writer, director and executive producer. Johnson stated that the series would delve into "the type of fun, character driven, case-of-the-week mystery goodness I grew up watching." The series was inspired by ''Columbo'', being referred as a " howcatchem". Johnson also used '' Magnum, P.I.'', ''The Rockford Files'', ''Quantum Leap'', ''Highway to Heaven'' and ''The Incredible Hulk'' as influences for the tone of the series. Johnson was interested in "doing that ''Columbo'' or even ''Quantum Leap'' thing of having every episode be an anthropological deep dive into a little corner of America that you might not otherwise see." On February 15, 2023, Peacock renewed the series for a second season.

Casting

The announcement of the series included that Natasha Lyonne would serve as the main lead actress. She was approached by Johnson about working on a procedural project together, with Lyonne as the lead character. As Johnson explained, the role was "completely cut to measure for her." While the series and lead character would share things in common with Columbo, the writers sought to differentiate the lead character by having her work outside of the law.

Due to the series' procedural aspects, the episodes feature several guest stars. Johnson was inspired by the number of actors who guest starred on ''Columbo'', wanting to deem each guest star as the star of the episode, which allowed them to attract many actors.

In April 2022, Benjamin Bratt joined the series. Instead of a guest role, his character would recur as Cliff, the head of security at a casino where Charlie works. When she escapes the casino, his character would go after her, which Bratt called "a ticking clock for the show".

In July 2024, Giancarlo Esposito, Katie Holmes, Gaby Hoffmann, Kumail Nanjiani, Kathrine Narducci, Ben Marshall, Kevin Corrigan, and Sherry Cola were cast in guest roles for the second season. Cynthia Erivo, Margo Martindale, and B. J. Novak also joined the guest cast in September. In October, John Mulaney, Ego Nwodim, and Sam Richardson were cast in guest roles for the second season.

Filming

According to the director of the Hudson Valley Film Commission, filming was based in Newburgh, New York, and ran from April through October 2022, in locations throughout the mid-Hudson Valley. At least one episode of the series was filmed in late August 2022 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Outdoor scenes were filmed in Laughlin, Nevada, in September 2022, with the Riverside Resort Hotel & Casino depicting the fictional Frost Casino.

Filming for the second season started on July 1, 2024, and wrapped in late December 2024. Filming locations included Clover Stadium in Pomona, New York.

Release

''Poker Face'' premiered on January 26, 2023, on Peacock, with the first four episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis. The second season premiered on May 8, 2025, with the first three episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis.

International sales are handled by Paramount Global Content Distribution. The series is available on Stan in Australia and on Citytv+ and Citytv in Canada. It began streaming on CBC Gem in Canada in February 2024. The series debuted in Asia via Rock Entertainment on May 24, 2023. The series then debuted in the United Kingdom on Sky Max on May 26, 2023.

Paramount also handled home media distribution for the series, with Paramount Home Entertainment releasing the first season exclusively on Blu-ray on September 12, 2023. The first season debuted on USA Network on March 9, 2025.

Reception

Critical response

Season 1

''Poker Face'' was met with critical acclaim upon release. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 98% approval rating for the first season, with an average rating of 8.4/10, based on 114 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "With the incomparable Natasha Lyonne as an ace up its sleeve, ''Poker Face'' is a puzzle box of modest ambitions working with a full deck." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 84 out of 100 based on 44 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

''Chicago Sun-Times''s Richard Roeper gave a rating of 3.5 out of 4 stars and said, "The beauty part is watching the amazing Natasha Lyonne's Charlie puzzle out the crime in clever and often hilarious fashion." Peter Travers of ABC News felt Lyonne landed "the role of her career" in Charlie Cale and called ''Poker Face'' "the best joyride of the 2023 TV season." Linda Holmes of NPR felt Lyonne's "unforgettable" performance proved herself to be the "Peter Falk of her generation". Ben Travers of '' IndieWire'' gave the series a B and stated "All this star power is enough to guarantee ''Poker Face'' will be, at least, an enjoyable diversion. But... it's hard to shake the feeling that ''Poker Face'' isn't as good as it could've been." ''The Atlantic''s Sophie Gilbert believed the show succeeded in its first episodes "by attending to the emotional cadences of overlooked people and places" but criticized the characters of later episodes for falling into tropes.

Season 2

The second season also received critical acclaim. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 96% approval rating based on 60 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus states, "Instead of reshuffling its winning formula, ''Poker Face''s second season doubles down on the winning virtues of its predecessor and scores a jackpot." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 79 out of 100 based on 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

''Empire''s David Opie awarded the second season with four out of five stars, stating, "The case-of-the-week format remains in place, mostly unchanged, but the serialised story that holds it together becomes more introspective and even existential, proving that the team's ambition isn't just limited to casting TV's most enviable guest list. If the impressive highs of Season 2 are anything to go by, ''Poker Face'' could easily go on for ten more seasons and just get better each time. (No lies detected.)" '' Consequence''s Liz Shannon Miller wrote, "It’s all so thoughtfully written and executed, at times to the point of devastation, though Charlie remains the show’s emotional anchor, keeping the audience from drifting into despair. So much of this show works simply because we just ''like'' Charlie — and can see why other people like and trust her in a relatively short amount of time."

Accolades

Explanatory notes

References

External links

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{{Peacock (streaming service)

2020s American comedy-drama television series
2020s American crime drama television series
2020s American mystery television series
2023 American television series debuts
American crime comedy television series
American detective television series
American English-language television shows
Nonlinear narrative television series
Peacock (streaming service) original programming
Television series by Media Rights Capital
Television series set in 2025
Television shows about murder
Television shows filmed in Nevada
Television shows filmed in New Mexico
Television shows filmed in New York (state)
Works by Rian Johnson