‘Poker Face’ review: TV’s best case-of-the-week series returns for Season 2

There s a wonderfully slouching offhand charisma Natasha Lyonne brings to her performance in Poker Face back for a second season on Peacock You don t see this kind of thing very much at the moment but like Jerry Orbach in those old episodes of Law Order it s the shrugging easy-going cynicism of a New Yorker who has been around enough to see the world for what it is Never staying in one place for long Lyonne s Charlie Cale picks up odd jobs as she goes at an apple orchard for a while then moving on to a new gig minding the printer in an otherwise empty office or picking up shifts as a lunch lady at a prep school when inevitably she stumbles upon a crime Usually murder Her unfailing ability to detect lies plus her innate curiosity means she s something of an amateur sleuth That doesn t make her a great number of friends so she heads off in her Plymouth Barracuda to somewhere new to start all over again The premise established in Season has Charlie fleeing from the mob which is another reason for her transient life on the road But Poker Face doesn t in fact need a Big Bad to justify her meandering existence and creator Rian Johnson and showrunner Tony Tost the latter taking over from Lilla and Nora Zuckerman resolve and dispatch with this lingering threat early in Season allowing Charlie to totally go from one place to the next for no particular reason beyond her own restlessness and wanderlust That s premise enough Season became increasingly grisly by the end which I thought was a mistake Tonally that s not why we re watching Poker Face which at its best plays around with the tropes that made a TV classic like Columbo so indelible It s a case-of-the-week format wherein we the audience know whodunit because we see the crime play out in the first minutes of each episode But instead of a police lieutenant with a cigar and a rumpled raincoat the show is centered on a delightful drifter with shaggy red hair and a disposable vape In recent weeks Lyonne broadcasted that she plans to direct and star in a movie that combines ethical artificial intelligence and traditional filmmaking techniques which is disingenuous on its face the ethical issues around AI are too big and systemic for any one person to combat them Was I disappointed Deeply Did the news taint my feelings towards Poker Face Somewhat unfortunately But it doesn t change my appreciation for Lyonne s talents and the way she can deliver an otherwise forgettable line Is it just me or is there ah something of a petty tyrant workplace situation happening around here Charlie wonders stumbling into yet another gig that will become more complicated than she anticipated There s no ruse she can t crack but she s modest when someone expresses their gratitude Me No I just petitioned a scant questions Even the scenarios themselves are wonderfully detailed and colorful Cynthia Erivo is the standout of the season playing quadruplets who as children starred on a show called Kid Cop Mom stole all their earnings and upon her death they learn there is a secret fifth sister they never knew about who has been left the full inheritance In another episode Charlie rents out of her car to a low-budget movie and ends up playing an extra as a corpse in a coffin Another episode explicitly makes fun of cops and their inadequacies Another centers on a minor league baseball crew the Cheesemongers who play at Velvety Canned Cheese Park where a limited players attempt a latter day version of the Black Sox embarrassment Occasionally the show takes a slight detour as when Charlie meets a group of con artists who after learning of her lie detecting abilities realize she s not there to bust them and reveal how their signature scam works A strategic error She may be unflappable but her moral compass inevitably wins out Sometimes the murder is premeditated Sometimes it happens in the heat of the moment These are desperate people making terrible decisions and the guest stars are a who s-who of recognizable names including Giancarlo Esposito Katie Holmes John Mulaney Carol Kane Margo Martindale Sam Richardson Melanie Lynskey and John Cho plus Steve Buscemi who provides his voice as another road warrior to whom Charlie occasionally talks on the CB radio There s an intentional throwback quality to the show that s so enjoyable One episode uses music and filming techniques like zooms that harken back to s-era TV dramas and you realize these tropes have gone out of style and entirely dropped away It s fun to see them revived again Poker Face isn t going for anything deep And yet it s still filled with sardonic commentary all the same including this doozy Despite their size muscle bros at the gym are really just a bunch of babies Poker Face Season stars out of Rating TV-MA How to watch Season premieres on Peacock May Related Articles Five local places to take Mom to see flowers on Mother s Day weekend The Four Seasons review Tina Fey is no Alan Alda but at least there s the Vivaldi Trump 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