"Poker Face" Is One Of The Best New TV Shows, So Here's Why You Need To Watch It
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On the heels of Glass Onion, the second film in the Knives Out universe, Rian Johnson returned to the world of murder mysteries with Poker Face, an exceptional throwback that puts a contemporary spin on the classic murder-of-the-week formula.
Peacock
It's true that Poker Face has taken social media by storm, and this Peacock original series truly deserves every word of praise it has received so far. Just in case you're on the fence regarding the series, here are 19 reasons why enjoying Poker Face shouldn't be much of a mystery at all:
1.The series brilliantly utilizes the "Howcatchem" format, which was popularized by the iconic detective series Columbo.
The "Howcatchem" format turns the murder mystery story on its head, as you know who did the killing and why, and the hook of the show comes in watching them attempt to cover up the crime yet fall victim to their own hubris, ineptitude, or an ultimately fatal flaw in their plan. While a traditional "whodunit" is always a fun time with the "guessing game" element, the "Howcatchem" dedicates more time to the criminal and cop characters, and watching as the cop begins to piece the mystery together based on information we already know provides the audience with some agency and turns the mystery toward how everything is going to shake out once the unknown becomes known.
2.Natasha Lyonne delivers both comedy and emotionally-charged drama in a fantastic, potentially career-defining performance.
Fresh off her time with Netflix's Russian Doll, Natasha Lyonne is really exceptional as the de facto lead of Poker Face, embodying a no-BS amateur detective who comes across various murder cases while working odd jobs (though there'll be more on that later). In addition to her natural charisma and flighty physicality, Natasha Lyonne delivers both comedy and emotionally-charged drama in a fantastic, potentially career-defining performance that feels entirely dependent on her ability to interweave both elements, including getting the audience to laugh during intense moments and gasp when a flippant comment leads to a shocking revelation.
3.Rian Johnson is one of the most fun and exciting filmmakers working today, and Poker Face is yet another reason why.
If you want to base your whole life on the 8th Star Wars movie, go right ahead, but for those of us paying attention, Rian Johnson is one of the most fun and exciting filmmakers working today. Whether its creating one of the best bottle episodes in television history with Breaking Bad's "Fly" or redefining genres with films like Brick and Looper, Johnson has proven his value as a storyteller time and time again, and his wonderful work as both a director and executive producer on Poker Face is more evidence that he's got much more in the tank.
4.While the show isn't a comedy in the most traditional sense, you can't deny that Poker Face doesn't offer a few solid laughs with every ensuing entry.
Peacock / MRC Television
As with most of Rian Johnson's projects, humor plays a major role in Poker Face, including laugh-out-loud reveals (including the deleted picture folder in the pilot and the DVD reveal in Episode 3), gut-busting one liners, and the subtle, clever use of irony throughout.
5.Taking a cue from Columbo as well as Johnson’s own star-studded murder mysteries, Poker Face presents an impressive amount of guest stars from episode to episode.
From big names like Adrien Brody and Lil Rel Howery to rising stars such as Hong Chau and Colton Ryan to the against-type character actor casting of Tim Meadows and John Ratzenberger. Whether they’re a murderer, victim, or one of the strange weirdos caught in the crossfire, Poker Face does a great job of delivering a familiar face in a fun role at every turn.
6.Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) is one of the most unique protagonists on television right now.
Peacock / MRC Television
An extroverted twist on the Marta Cabrera character in Knives Out, Charlie Cale is one of the most unique protagonists on television, an eternally optimistic and trusting person drawn into solving murders by her curiosity and belief in the goodness of others. Moreover, Charlie Cale is a more human hero than we usually get in the genre: She's vulnerable, she embraces her vices, and she's not afraid to self-deprecate if the occasion calls for it, which is all the more enhanced by Lyonne's stellar comic timing.
7.The show has an incredible array of villain characters that often make the episodes even better.
One of the most refreshing things about Poker Face is the presentation of its villains, whether they be prototypical villains like those in the series' first two episodes or more complicated villains who are driven to murder out of desperation. However, half the fun of Poker Face is the reveal of the villain's true nature, especially in Episode 5, which pulls an incredible bait-and-switch nearly halfway through the story.
8.Poker Face has the scale and depth of most anything you'd see on the big screen without ever looking cheap or lazy.
Though it's not much of a statement to say that Poker Face has theatrical production value, given now that 80% of scripted television often looks better than the latest Transformers or MCU outing, it's still quite enjoyable that Poker Face has the scale and depth of most anything you'd see on the big screen without ever looking cheap or lazy. Add in the sense of location, the incredible wardrobe choices, and the many moving parts it takes to pull off a murder-of-the-week show with truly only one or two consistent characters and Poker Face is a show that can be admired on a sheer production level in addition to its narrative successes.
9.Poker Face further features a roster of impressive talent behind the camera, namely with its directors.
Beyond its extraordinary cast, Poker Face further features a roster of impressive talent behind the camera, including horror master Lucky McKee (May), Iain B. MacDonald (Episodes), Janicza Bravo (Zola) and, of course, Rian Johnson himself, who helms no less than three episodes of the 10-episode inaugural season. Even Lyonne herself steps behind the camera again for Poker Face, having previously cut her teeth in television directing with Orange Is the New Black and Russian Doll.
10.For fans of Natasha Lyonne's Netflix series Russian Doll, there are quiet a few amazing crossovers.
Peacock / MRC Television
Speaking of Russian Doll, fans of the fantastic time-loop series might be pleasantly surprised to see there's more bleeding over in Poker Face than just the lead role being inhabited by Natasha Lyonne. Russian Doll recurring stars Chloë Sevigny and Dascha Polanco have already shown up in pivotal roles in Poker Face, and should the series receive a second season order, one might presume more familiar faces from Russian Doll may inhabit the world of Poker Face in due time.
11.It's brilliant ability to pay homage to the iconic Columbo.
Having binged a good amount of Columbo in recent weeks (which is also available on Peacock in a stunning 4K restoration), this writer marked out pretty hard when he noticed Poker Face utilizing the same opening credits as the iconic "Howcatchem" series, followed by a number of formatting, narrative, and tonal similarities that help the two remain spiritually in league. But perhaps the coolest similarity to Columbo comes in Lyonne's performance, as her take on Charlie Cale carries a raspy confidence and stilted speech pattern that feels oh-so-similar to that of Peter Falk's legendary performance.
12.With Rian Johnson's storytelling curveballs, Poker Face remains delightfully unpredictable and refreshingly off-beat.
Rian Johnson has a very particular talent for finding great ways to play around with audience expectations, almost as if he attempts to reverse engineer narratives within genres to best catch his audience off-guard. For instance, Episode 6 of Poker Face (titled "Exit Stage Death") essentially throws the show on its head by placing Charlie, a human lie detector, into the world of dinner theater, where her talent no longer becomes weeding out lies but rather weeding out the truth among professional liars.
13.While Poker Face uses comedy extremely well, it also isn't afraid to get dramatic when it needs to.
Poker Face certainly uses a healthy dose of humor to lighten up the murder-driven affairs of the series, but that doesn't mean that the show doesn't bring some excellent drama to the table. From '60s hippies cults to unrequited love to the plight of the one-hit wonder, you're just as likely to be riveted by the story behind the murders as you will be by Charlie's post-mortem investigations.
14.Poker Face is further elevated by its wonderful visual language, as bolstered by cinematography orchestrated by the directors of photography.
Poker Face is further elevated by its wonderful visual language, as bolstered by cinematography orchestrated by the directors of photography on such projects as ZIWE, Behind the Mask, Rampage, Knives Out, and Glass Onion. From desert and field shots that'd feel at home in a John Ford movie or moments that perfectly pay off visual gags, Poker Face's ability to deliver on a visual front places it ahead of many other paint-by-numbers murder mystery shows.
15.The show uses teases to hook audiences in an amazing way, whether it's through guest stars or the overarching mystery of Season 1.
From the first episode of Poker Face forward, the series has teased much about the show, from Charlie's backstory to the future reveal of Ron Perlman's big bad. But beyond these interesting revelations story-wise, it's also intriguing to see some of the future guest star appearances promised by teasers for the rest of the season, including Nick Nolte, Stephanie Hsu, Rhea Perlman, and frequent Rian Johnson collaborator Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
16.Poker Face also stands out among its contemporaries for having a singular attitude, being unafraid to be provocative and risqué at points without trying to be offensive or necessarily transgressive.
That's not to say Poker Face is necessarily trying to be "in your face," but it is nice that a show will go wherever the story takes it, regardless of if it's perceivably mean or comes at the cost of an easily beloved character.
17.Another signature touch of Rian Johnson on Poker Face is the eclectic usage of great curated music.
Peacock
The Peacock series offers toe-tapping tracks from Sam Cooke, Paul McCartney & Wings, Tom Waits, Jackie Shane, and many others. Even the original music composed by the fake band Doxxxology are ear worms that you'll likely not shake, and with several more episodes to go, there are many possibilities for more great music to punctuate Poker Face's biggest moments.
18.Thanks to the wonderful world of streaming, one of the major differences between Poker Face and other classic murder-of-the-week series is the fact that the show is not bound by traditional content restrictions.
Peacock
This all means that the series can showcase explicit language, violence, and nudity. In addition to the realism it can afford in terms of dialogue and content, it also allows the show to touch upon modern topics that would land most broadcast shows in hot water.
19.And finally, Poker Face is helping Peacock prove it's one of the best streaming services for original content.
Peacock
At the risk of sounding like a full-blown advertisement for Peacock, which offers Poker Face in 4K HDR, the streaming service has truly taken HBO Max's momentum as a must-have streamer, with fan-favorite TV classics, a dense library of old and new WWE content, live sports broadcasts, and brand new television series and movies, most of which are also presented in 4K at no extra charge. So, if you're worried about finding nothing to enjoy outside of Poker Face on Peacock, we would be lying if we told you that Peacock isn't a streamer you'll be checking out for other entertainment.
New episodes of Poker Face drop Thursdays on Peacock.
There are so many things you can watch on Peacock for free, but if you want even more content, you can sign up for Peacock Premium for $4.99 a month or Peacock Premium Plus for $9.99 a month after a seven-day free trial.
