Lyonne’s Charlie is a loyal, chilled-out casino employee just doing her best to make it through the workweek and also happens to have an unusual talent for identifying lies. It’s a show to watch because you already know what the end will look like, and all the half-tedious, half-revelatory step-by-step machinery that gets you there is the fun part.Ĭreated by Rian Johnson of Knives Out and Star Wars: The Last Jedi fame, Poker Face is something weirdly rare in the world of streaming television: an episodic drama. Poker Face is not a show to fly through because you’re desperately longing to see what happens at the end. It’s not trying to outrace its viewers or leap into some unexpected twist before anyone has time to see it coming. Set against the headlong plot-rush binge model of typical streaming mysteries, Poker Face’s measured pace looks downright leisurely.īut then, like its nonchalant lead detective Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne), Poker Face is not in a hurry. Not too much! But this old-school detective series lets itself drag in places, lingering on details and minor logistics, taking its time to sift through each red herring and every clue.
Aside from the continuing presence of Natasha Lyonne, every episode of Poker Face feels like a blank slate, which can be a blessing or a curse.Ī couple episodes into Poker Face, the new Peacock series’ true nature starts to come into focus: It’s just a touch boring.
