Poker Face

Poker Face has been pretty entertaining so far. Natasha Lyonne plays Charlie Cale, a casino host with the talent of being a human lie detector. She can tell if you're lying about anything from playing cards to actual murder. She ends up going on the run and being an amateur detective solving murders across the nation. Each episode is its own story and has a great cast of guest stars each episode. It's being hailed as one of the best new shows of the year by just about every critic and the audience seems to really like it too. If you give this a try there's a good chance you'll end up watching the entire season.

Thank you Rian Johnson for bringing back the 1970s quirky crime detective. Columbo, Rockford Files, Kojak, & Police Woman are just a few of the shows Poker Face takes inspiration from. Nowadays there are a lot of rehashing of the old into new form. Most should never have been attempted. And, I think Natasha Lyonne is perfect. The writing is creative & stories are imaginative, with a suspenseful back story. It has a gimmick of her having special abilities to find the truth but it comes off believable. It's not obvious to the plot & overdone at all. The cast in each episode are top actors and comedians, along with newer faces that hang right in there for talent. Loved seeing Natasha & her castmate from Orange is the New Black, Dascha Polanco back together in 1st episode. I am really looking forward to the remainder of the season.

Great fun show, binge worthy

Really enjoying this show, watched the first 4 episodes in one hit. Love Natasha Lyonne as the main truth telling character. It's fun, lighthearted but not boring. The characters are well put together. The female truck driver in episode 2 was great. Sometimes you don't need a heavy drama and whilst this isn't edge of your seats its interesting and entertaining all the way through, episode 4 was a bit silly but clever none the less.

So expect some silly moments but fun to watch. Reminds me a bit of 'Shut Eye' about the fortune teller scam.

This story is about a woman who can really tell if your lying, who wouldn't like to have that skill.

Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) is a cocktail waitress and former card hustler working at the Frost Casino in Nevada, but following the murder of her best friend, Charlie finds herself on the run from her past with her abilities as a human lie detector serving her on various self-contained mysteries.

Poker Face is the new Peacock series created by Rian Johnson of Looper, Knives Out, and Glass Onion fame. Much like how Knives Out tapped into the framework star studded closed room murder mysteries, Poker Face evokes a number of classic examples of "case of the week" detective series and the show definitely has DNA from the likes of The Rockford Files, The Fugitive, but most especially Columbo which is deliberately homage by Johnson with its usage of yellow text opening credits and the "howcatchem" format popularized by Columbo. Johnson and company have used these well worn TV frameworks to create a memorable and unique closed ended murder mystery series that does a lot to stand out from the crowded field of procedurals taking up the TV airspace.

At the center of the show is undeniably Natasha Lyonne's Charlie Cale character, and with Johnson's writing and Lyonne's performance the two create a likable and memorable character who we want to see go on further adventures because of how unique she is. While Charlie Cale is able to discern whether people are telling the truth or not, Charlie herself is a bit of a mess barely keeping her head above water and driving a car and living in a mobile home which have both seen better days. In many ways the character reminded me of Jeff Bridges' The Dude from The Big Lebowski as filtered by way of Peter Falk's Columbo as both characters' slovenly appearances cause their antagonists to underestimate them which leads to their downfall. Because Poker Face is up front about its antagonists and doesn't rely on all the post CSI flash of many procedurals, Poker Face distinguishes itself by making itself a character based affair with the cases being a battle of wits between crook and sleuth and we definitely get some memorable crooks from the get go.

Poker Face is a really entertaining series and it definitely has the legs to be a long running and fun bit of investigative escapism. Definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of classic sleuthing tropes.

At the time of writing, there is one review for this show. It is a somewhat incoherent rant about bribes, cameos and general displeasure. It does not reek of impartiality.

I just finished the first episode. It was very, very good and I am hard to please. The role Natasha was made for. Brody is fantastic. The mood, cinematography and writing are all top par. I've been to Laughlin and stayed at the location, so I don't reek of impartiality.

This is going to be good. Well thought out, well executed. Compare with franchised low grade plutonium by the Sherdian syndicate, this is actually good tv.