If you were staying up at night wondering where to see iconoclastic actor Natasha Lyonne next now that season two of Russian Doll has wrapped up, your prayers are about to be answered. Knives Out director Rian Johnson has just released his first look teaser of Poker Face, his upcoming character-driven, case-of-the-week mystery comedy-drama, and Lyonne is front and center in her starring role as gambler and amateur sleuth Charlie Cale.
Poker Face will debut its first four episodes on Peacock on Jan. 26 subsequent episodes will drop weekly afterward. In his tweet, Johnson says he has been working on the series for the past year (presumably when not busy with the Knives Out sequel, Glass Onion). The weekly crime series will feature a stellar array of guest stars, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Adrien Brody, Dascha Polanco, Ellen Barkin, Nick Nolte, Jameela Jamil, Simon Helberg, Ron Perlman, and longtime Lyonne BFF, Chloë Sevigny. However, fans of Lyonne seem to be the most vocal on social media following Johnson’s trailer drop.
The murder of the week format, which follows a single detective or amateur sleuth solving a fresh crime every episode was a format that once dominated the airwaves but has become thin on the ground lately in favor of police procedurals and true crime formatted shows that attempt to solve one murder or mystery over the course of an entire season. Fans are already comparing Lyonne’s Charlie Cale, a wisecracking poker player who is a “human lie detector,” to Peter Falk’s iconic Columbo, who enjoyed a new spate of popularity after its classic episodes began streaming on the Peacock platform.
Johnson and Lyonne released a joint statement regarding the series to Deadline that read, in part:
“We invite you to follow Charlie on a cross-country road trip as she meets a rogue’s gallery of characters and avenges a new injustice each episode, armed with little more than her uncanny ability to detect lies and a genuine appreciation for her fellow humans (and the occasional dog). Now please leave the overthinking to Rian, who has masterfully crafted ten self-contained puzzles for Charlie to solve. Just jump in the back of her ‘69 Plymouth Barracuda and enjoy the ride.”
— Natasha Lyonne and Rian Johnson’s statement
Poker Face debuts its first four episodes on Peacock on Jan. 26. Subsequent episodes will premiere weekly on Thursdays.