Skip to main content

Poker Face review: a charming ode to a bygone TV era

Natasha Lyonne wears a trucker hat and sunglasses in Poker Face.
Evans Vestal Ward/Peacock
Poker Face
“Poker Face is a quirky, clever homage to classic TV detective shows like Columbo that is anchored by Natasha Lyonne's endlessly delightful central performance.”
Pros
  • Natasha Lyonne's pitch-perfect lead performance
  • A clever, serialized on-the-run gimmick
  • An endless array of well-cast guest stars
Cons
  • Some episodes don't use Lyonne as well as they should
  • A straightforward episodic formula that may wear thin for some viewers

Poker Face wears its influences on its sleeve. From its “howcatchem” episodic structure to even its placement on NBC’s streaming service, the new series’ love of classic detective shows like Columbo is clear from the moment it begins. While there is one ongoing subplot that loosely connects its episodes together, Poker Face even bucks against the widespread serialization of our current, prestige TV era by opening with a batch of installments that, for the most part, can be watched in whatever order the viewer decides.

Recommended Videos

For some, Poker Face’s attempt to revitalize its classic TV formula may only make the series seem more antiquated or, even worse, disposable. Poker Face wasn’t made for those viewers, though. Together, creator Rian Johnson and star Natasha Lyonne have crafted a straightforward love letter to classic TV thrillers like Columbo, Murder, She Wrote, and The Fugitive that’s not only unabashed in its affection for those titles, but perfectly content to live in their shadow. Much like Johnson’s Knives Out films, Poker Face also quickly emerges as the rare love letter that manages to stand on its own.

Natasha Lyonne holds a gas station windshield wiper in Poker Face.
Karolina Wojtasik/Peacock

Johnson, who wrote Poker Face’s premiere and directed its first two episodes, knows that no detective show can work without a great sleuth at the center of it. While she’s by no means the kind of no-frills police detective that viewers may expect, Charlie Cale (Lyonne) fills the show’s central role with deceptive ease. Born with the unique ability to instinctually know whenever someone has told a lie, Charlie is an inherent thorn in the side of anyone who makes the mistake of trying to commit a crime in her presence.

The series’ patiently paced premiere, which counts actors like Adrien Brody, Benjamin Bratt, and Dascha Polanco among its guest stars, effectively establishes Charlie’s unique ability and relentlessly inquisitive nature. The events of the episode see her graduate from a casino cocktail girl to a woman on the run, which is the turn that provides Poker Face’s first season with its road trip format. The series’ subsequent episodes all follow Charlie as she nabs odd jobs in different American small towns only to inevitably get caught up in her own private investigations into various local murders.

This format provides Poker Face with a small dose of prestige TV-esque serialization and opens the door for the series to feature at least 10 different locations and even more noteworthy guest stars. Brody, for his part, brings a dash of slimy movie star authority to the series’ premiere, while actors like Lil Rel Howery, Chloë Sevigny, Simon Helberg, Colton Ryan, and others all show up for similar guest parts throughout the five episodes that follow. Among the show’s guest stars, Hong Chau makes a particularly lasting impression as an unfiltered truck driver in the series’ second installment, while S. Epatha Merkerson and Judith Light turn in two memorable, comedic performances in one Lucky McKee-directed, nursing home-set thrill ride.

Natasha Lyonne crowdsurfs in Poker Face.
Sara Shatz/Peacock

Poker Face’s long list of guest stars does occasionally result in it making the same mistake that so many past TV murder mysteries have. Of the series’ first six episodes, which were the only installments that were provided early to critics, the least effective invariably prove to be those which prioritize their guest stars over Lyonne’s Charlie. That’s the case during the series’ Ellen Barkin and Tim Meadows-led installment, which casts the two veteran performers as a pair of vain former TV co-stars and lovers.

The oddball installment is directed with considerable style by High Maintenance’s Ben Sinclair, but its intense focus on its guest stars leaves Charlie’s inevitable investigation in the episode’s second half feeling disappointingly rushed. Fortunately, that’s a flaw most of Poker Face’s first six episodes manage to avoid. The first season will have a total of 10 episodes.

In classic Columbo fashion, every Poker Face episode opens with a murder, and it’s only after said crime has been committed that Lyonne’s Charlie shows up again. Nonetheless, most of Poker Face’s opening installments still find the perfect balance between the series’ guest stars and the kindhearted, unofficial detective who connects them all together. Even in its weaker episodes, watching Lyonne’s Charlie slowly but surely deconstruct the details of Poker Face’s various crimes is a pleasure that never lessens or wanes.

Natasha Lyonne and Benjamin Bratt sit in a car together in Poker Face.
Peacock

Poker Face’s infectious charm is partly the result of just how well-suited Lyonne is for her role as Charlie. The character is written in such a way that it’s impossible to imagine anyone playing her better than Lyonne. Charlie’s various eccentricities, as well as her unbending pursuit of justice, fit Lyonne about as well as Columbo’s tan raincoat fit Peter Falk. Lyonne even gives a mumbly, endlessly questioning performance as Charlie that only makes her feel even more like a worthy spiritual successor to Falk’s iconic TV detective.

Of course, unlike Columbo, Charlie Cale is not an actual detective, which means that she often has to resort to more creative means of finding justice than her TV predecessor. Poker Face, thankfully, manages to plant the seeds for its inevitable conclusions about as seamlessly as one would hope. The series’ puzzle-box scripts all seem to delight equally in their moments of cleverness and absurdity, which only helps Poker Face’s episodes further match the lighthearted yet measured aesthetic that Rian Johnson and cinematographer Steve Yedlin create together in its premiere.

Poker Face | Official Trailer | Peacock Original

Even when Johnson steps away and lets filmmakers like McKee, Ben Sinclair, and Iain B. MacDonald take over for him, Poker Face’s first six episodes don’t deviate much from its initial, sun-burnt color palette. The series, consequently, looks purposefully similar to some of Johnson’s previous films — namely, The Brothers Bloom and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Its cinematic style only helps it stand out further from the rest of TV’s current offerings, as does its adherence to its classic detective show formula, which offers pleasures that now feel familiar yet forgotten.

Anyone who has seen an episode of Columbo will know what they’re getting into with Poker Face, but Johnson and Lyonne are aware of that fact. They also, even more vitally, know that there aren’t any other TV shows on the air right now that are designed to offer the kind of experience Columbo once did. Poker Face sets out to change that, and it does so while marching to the beat of its own charmingly anachronistic drum.

Poker Face premieres Thursday, January 26 on Peacock. Digital Trends was given early access to the series’ first six episodes.

Alex Welch
Alex is a writer and critic who has been writing about and reviewing movies and TV at Digital Trends since 2022. He was…
The 7 best Super Bowl ads from the past 10 years
David Harbour and Isaiah Mustafa on a horse in an ad for Tide.

Aside from football, the Super Bowl is famous for its many big-budget, high-concept commercials. The advertisements that air on game day are usually comedic, extravagant videos with celebrity cameos. Other times, they're cinematic and emotional adverts that effectively connect with the audience. Sometimes, these commercials are even more entertaining than the Super Bowl itself. The 2025 Super Bowl is gearing up to unleash another wave of big advertisements. However, it's unclear if they can top these seven Super Bowl ads, which rank as some of the best from the past decade.
Michael CeraVe - CeraVe
“Michael CeraVe” I CeraVe Super Bowl (Long Form)
CeraVe effectively promoted its moisturizing cream in a commercial starring Michael Cera. The comedic actor puts himself at the center of a hilarious parody of over-the-top beauty product commercials, complete with flowery language, hunky male models, sexual undertones, and some sort of dolphin-unicorn hybrid. However, it is revealed that Cera was actually pitching this commercial to CeraVe executives, who were not that impressed. They may not have liked it, but audiences sure did.

The DunKings - Dunkin' Donuts
Ben Affleck Joined By Jennifer Lopez, Matt Damon & More For Epic Dunkin’ Super Bowl Ad

Read more
3 sci-fi movies on Peacock you need to watch in February 2025
Will Smith looking at a row of robots in I, Robot.

Peacock is home to some great original TV shows like Twisted Metal and The Day of the Jackal. But if a movie is what you desire, the streamer has plenty of those, too. In fact, Peacock adds new movie titles each month to its list of offerings to delight those who want to watch a library title again or for the first time.
If you’re really into sci-fi, chances are you have seen these three sci-fi movies on Peacock you need to watch in February 2025. But they’re all movies worth watching again. If you have never seen them, you won’t be disappointed to watch them for the first time.

Need more recommendations? Then check out the best new movies to stream this week, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
The Fifth Element (1997)
THE FIFTH ELEMENT [1997] – Anniversary Trailer
A Bruce Willis classic, The Fifth Element was often used to demo the latest and greatest TVs in stores and at trade shows when it was released on DVD and later Blu-ray. And for good reason: it’s a stunningly visual cinematic masterpiece. The sci-fi action movie is set in the future 23rd century, where Korbon Dallas (Willis), a taxi driver, unwittingly becomes responsible for helping the Earth survive an attack. Thankfully, Dallas was also a former special forces major, so he knows a thing or two about defending against enemies and how to fight. Together, he and Leeloo (Mila Jovovich), a mysterious young woman who gets into his cab, fight the cosmic entity looking to take over the planet.
Dubbed one of those fantastic campy action movies, our writer calls The Fifth Element “camp in its purest and most unadulterated form, a guilty pleasure if ever there was one.” He lauds the “intentionally, over-the-top” stories as “completely irresistible.” Plus, who can resist a good, old-fashioned Bruce Willis action movie? Add sci-fi to the mix, and The Fifth Element is one of those movies you’ll never get tired of watching.

Read more
The 10 most popular TV shows on Netflix right now
Mugshot of O.J. Simpson posing with a police number.

Exploring the thousands of titles on Netflix can be both exciting and overwhelming. Content of all types abounds, from dramas and comedies to reality shows and documentaries. It's a good thing there's a list to help narrow your decision by letting you see the most popular Netflix shows. That's right, every week, Netflix releases its list of the 10 most-watched TV shows over a recent seven-day period.

The Night Agent season 2 remains in the top spot on the charts. Fans are also catching up on The Night Agent season 1, which comes in at No. 6. This week's noteworthy additions include a new documentary about the O.J. Simpson trial and the latest season of The Recruit. Below, we have listed the top 10 shows in the U.S. from January 27 to February 2, along with general information about each show, including genre, rating, cast, and synopsis.

Read more