Poker Face review: Natasha Lyonne, Rian Johnson’s new mystery show rules

It is possible to outrun the Vegas casino fixer who would like her head. Poker Face’s accidental sleuth Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) zips around the American Midwest in a beaten-up Plymouth Barracuda. As one mechanic (and murderer) scathingly notes, “It’d run amazing if you took better care of it.” One can’t resist the symbolism: Like the 1969 muscle car, Poker Face’s weekly mysteries are built on an episodic television structure that feels reliable but anachronistic. The case-of-the-week format isn’t entirely dead, but it’s practically nonexistent amid streaming originals, especially ones with a team and cast as prestigious as this.

Rian Johnson was the creator of this show. He also directed some episodes. Nora Zuckerman, Lilla Zuckerman and Nora Zuckerman are the showrunners. Fringe(), The 10-Episode Peacock Series finds the Knives outDirector grappling with tropes in detective fiction. BrickThe Benoit Blanc movies on Agatha Christie’s whodunits were a riff on detective noir and hardboiled detective fiction. Poker FaceIt is right on par with television mainstays such as Columbo (the show even replicates the title font of Tumblr’s favorite 1970s crime series). Johnson’s films and TV work have become known for being rather aggressively postmodern, so it’s sort of surprising in itself to watch a show that’s so classicist in its storytelling, with only occasional offhand — and genuinely funny — references to contemporary cultural ephemera. Even the cut-to-commercial-break moments (which may not have ads depending on your Peacock plan) hit with a classic cadence. And while Knives out Glass Onionencouraged social commentary and its own bits of satire Poker Face’s number-one priority seems to be falling in love with Lyonne’s Charlie. Although she works hard for everybody, she has no answers. She solves mysteries because it’s the right thing to do.

Charlie’s aimless drifting, fueled by a bloody inciting incident in the pilot and the isolated nature of each case, means that the show can, technically, be watched in any order following the first episode; every new stop brings with it a new story and new cast of characters. It’s a canny choice of adapting the stray ideas that have circulated on Twitter for yearsImagine how wonderful it would have been if Lyonne was such an investigator. As it turns out, this is possible. Is Very good.

Evans Vestal Ward/Peacock

Similar ColumboEvery episode of Poker FaceIt begins with a crime, which is clearly visible to all: victim, perpetrator and smoking gun. The clock quickly rewinds and Charlie is able to see how she fits in the proceedings.

It’s all about the enjoyment Poker FaceLyonne can call bullshit, literally, everytime she sees it. Both Poker Face ColumboIntrigue is found in both the investigation and execution of murder. They also delight in how their sleuths are able to follow the trail instead of just leaving evidence. In addition, Poker Face’s cleverest twist, each episode connects Charlie to the victims and perpetrators through whatever odd jobs she takes to survive on the road, and thrives on the ripple effects of the murder.

While the formula is familiar, it doesn’t feel old-fashioned, thanks to charming production design, energetic camerawork, and the right dramatic complications. Charlie, a non-police detective who has a charming voice and bumbling manner of approaching each murder is the big difference. By the time an episode’s target is murdered, Charlie is usually already connected to everyone involved by way of side gigs or detours. Each episode is personal and gives the viewers an emotional hook. And her status as a (framed) fugitive means that police assistance is out of the question; she has to rely on the relationships she’s struck up, and usually on some form of citizens’ justice. This feels very much in keeping with Johnson’s interview description of the “paternal state” detective fiction. Poker Face often sidelines. Charlie’s brand of justice is usually the denouement, with the implication that arrest probably isn’t far behind.

You will be captivated by such instances. Poker FaceYou don’t have to impress yourself by guessing the murderer as the frequent guest star. That work is done. You wonder, “How does Charlie get to know that person?” What is her role? Which service job does she have? And how can she make them culpable for their acts when she’s a fugitive from the law herself, with only inadmissible evidence to work with? The show sometimes finds poetic and surprising answers to that last question; sometimes it’s a little more conventional.

Such rituals feel somewhat absent from what many consider “prestige” television. Though serialized storytelling isn’t a bad thing, it’s too often mistaken for prestige itself (which is most apparent when filmmakers and showrunners call their series “eight-hour movies”). This is a refreshing breath of air. Poker FaceThis team fills in a gap of one-and onlys. It has great fun and has lots of laughs as they rotate through an amazing guest list. Adrien Brody gets his energy from the following: Succession-esque mix of overconfidence and desperation in the premiere as the failson heir to a casino; Chloë Sevigny lets decades of frustration rip as a washed-up rocker; Lil Rel Howery and Danielle Macdonald channel MacbethHong Chau and his wife own a brisket restaurant. In one instance, Hong Chau plays the role of a stranger trucker mistaking him for a murderer.

Photo: Sara Shatz/Peacock

Johnson directed and wrote the episode (with his buddy, cinematographer Steve Yedlin as cameraman). “Dead Man’s Hand,” is tragic and compelling as it establishes not only Charlie’s backstory but also the structure and style of every subsequent episode, as Charlie investigates her friend’s murder in the casino in which they both work while grinding on a card shark scheme. Episode 3, “The Stall,” directed by Iain B. MacDonald and written by Wyatt Cain, The best six episodes of this series have been previewed by critics. This episode is the best because it explores a murder over a business of brisket. Okja.A non-Criterion Netflix disc? It’s not often.

Team behind Poker FaceIt is clear that even though the formula works well, things can go wrong. In the fifth episode, “The Time of the Monkey,” surly geriatric hippies commit a murder against an old man for unknown reasons — a crime that creates a mystery within the mystery. (The episode also features one of the most surprising end-credits needle-drops I’ve experienced: a Zamrock song by my fellow countrymen Ngozi Family, pioneers of a music movement with roots in Zambian independence.) Episode 6 is the most dramatic episode. It’s filled with suspense and twists as we see who will fall prey to decades-old feud between TV stars, Tim Meadows and Ellen Barkin, both of whom bring drama to low-rent theatre productions.

No matter the circumstances, Lyonne’s line readings in Poker Face are phenomenal, and the show always capitalizes on her character’s shabby charm. Sometimes that’s through costume (often a mix of rather sharp ensembles compromised by a trucker hat), or simply letting sparks fly with the vivid personalities she comes across as she follows her natural investigative intuition. The writers know viewers need a thrilling conclusion, but they’re also sharp enough to realize that letting Lyonne do the work — or in the case of episode 3, taste bits of firewood, with each flavor establishing its own musical motif — is its own form of joy. A secret to making good TV: If there’s a reason for Natasha Lyonne to snap and tell a truly evil little dog he’s a fascist, you put it in the show.

Poker Face is a reupholstering of a classic television formula that’s both more manageable to watch as well as more memorable. As the viewer’s attention continues to be drawn over TV’s golden age, which has become too much TV, it feels as though each episode is deliberately isolated. Perhaps the solution to the increasing homogeneity lies in the same methods of detective work — in retracing the steps and history and finding what makes the format tick. Finally, it is time for a show similar. Poker FaceA team capable of putting two and two together to crack the case.

Poker FacePeacock now has episodes 1 through 4. New episodes premiere on Thursdays.