From Murder, She Wrote to Agatha Christie, there’s a long history proving that people love a good whodunnit.
The success of Knives Out and the recent sequel Glass Onion is proof that Rian Johnson is something of an emerging leader in the genre, so news that he’s turning his mystery mastery to a weekly TV series is hugely exciting for fans.
Rian wrote and directed the first Knives Out movie, earning himself an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. His follow-up, Glass Onion, dominated Netflix’s top 10 list over the Christmas period this year, as millions of households streamed the latest antics of Daniel Craig’s southern sleuth, Benoit Blanc.
However, Benoit will be put on the backburner for a while as Rian introduces Poker Face, a new weekly mystery series in the style of Columbo.
What is Poker Face about?
According to Rian, the series will be a character-driven, mystery comedy-drama which focuses on a different case of the week each episode.
The official synopsis for the series explains, “Charlie, who has an extraordinary ability to determine when someone is lying, hits the road with her Plymouth Barracuda and with every stop encounters a new cast of characters and strange crimes she can't help but solve.”
Who is in the cast of Poker Face?
Poker Face is fronted by Russian Doll star Natasha Lyonne.
Rian and Natasha cooked up the series together, after quickly bonding over their shared love of classic television mystery shows like Murder, She Wrote, Magnum P.I., and Columbo.
Explaining how the two met at a party thrown by Rian’s wife, Karina Longworth, famous for the old Hollywood podcast You Must Remember This, and how they came up with the idea for the show, Rian told Vanity Fair, “I was thinking about what makes those shows tick and most of them are really kind of stealth hangout shows."
"They’re all anchored by an incredibly charismatic, unique personality…. When I saw Russian Doll, I just realized this persona and this presence and this magnetic charisma that’s so unique that Natasha has onscreen. I thought she could do this, she could be the keystone of a show like this.”
Natasha plays Charlie Cale, a casino worker who goes on the run with the talent to always spot a liar.
The first season has bagged plenty of other A-listers, too.
Throughout the episodes, stars including Chloe Sevigny (Big Love), Adrien Brody (The Pianist), Ellen Barkin (Drop Dead Gorgeous), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer), Judith Light (Ugly Betty) and Nick Nolte (The Prince of Tides) appear.
How to watch Poker Face and when is it out?
Poker Face will be streaming exclusively on Peacock.
The first four episodes will be available to stream from January 26. The next six episodes will drop weekly every Thursday, with the season finale landing on March 9.
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