Weekend Watch: Poker Face Season 2
Charlie Cale is back on the case...
Image Credit: Peacock
Welcome to the latest edition of Weekend Watch, where I recommend (or occasionally warn against) movies or TV shows I’ve been checking out. This week, Natasha Lyonne is investigating more crimes. Follow James on Twitter: @jamwhite, Threads/Instagram: @jammerwhite and Blue Sky: @jammerwhite.bsky.social
When filmmaker Rian Johnson and star/co-creator Natasha Lyonne debuted quirky throwback mystery series Poker Faceback in 2023, I was delighted by its combination of whydunnit sleuthing and offbeat comedy.
Reassuringly, the wider reaction to the show was just as enthusiastic, so Johnson and Lyonne are back for another batch of episodes, with Tony Tost running the show this season.
The setup remains the same –– Lyonne plays the laidback but determined Charlie Cale, a woman with an innate ability to tell when others are lying. While the show is largely anthology format (meaning Charlie rocks up in a new situation each week, surrounded by a fresh batch of weird characters and solves a murder), it has been linked in the past by her encounters with Vegas criminals and a wider mobster storyline, which continues here. It makes for a useful framework for why Charlie would be on the road, though the team smartly doesn’t stretch it too far.
Part of the appeal of the show, beyond the fact that it channels the 1980s likes of Columbo and Murder, She Wrote, in which an unlikely detective figures out a murder the audience has already witnessed, is the sheer level of guest stars it can attract, which has reached another level here.
The likes of Cynthia Erivo, Jason Ritter, Melanie Lynskey, John Cho, Kumail Nanjiani, Giancarlo Esposito and Gaby Hoffman are but a sampling of the game guests season 2 has to offer. Kudos in particular to Nanjiani, who plays a character so far removed from his normal personality it gives it extra layers of hilarity.
Johnson, Lyonne (who also directs an episode this year) and Tost, as well as the wider writing and production team, keep the quality level high here, the rambling, funny tone consistent and the mysteries wildly entertaining.
Charlie may not be on the run forever, but hopefully this team has the will and the ideas to keep the show running for at least a few more years.
The first three episodes of Poker Face Season 2 are on Peacock in the US and Sky Max/Now in the UK. I’ve seen 10 episodes of the season.