This Peacock series was another gem I found this month!
This series starrs Hong Chau (“The Menu”), Adrien Brody (“Blonde”), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“Glass Onion”), Judith Light (“The Menu”), Lil Rel Howery (“Deep Water”), Noah Segan (“Glass Onion”), Laura Linda Bradley (“Raymond & Ray) and Natasha Lyonne (“Russian Doll”).
This series was directed and written by thee Rian Johnson.
This series was released on January 26th 2023 along with its first-three-episode out of ten. This series has ten episodes in its first season. It was rated Tv-Mature for Sex and nudity and profanity.
This series is a Crime/Drama/Mystery.
Onto the premise: Charlie has an extraordinary ability to determine when someone is lying. She hits the road with her Plymouth Barracuda and with every stop encounters a new cast of characters and strange crimes she can’t help but investigate and solve.
In Episode one, When a close friend meets an untimely end, Charlie Cale, a casino cocktail waitress with an uncanny knack for identifying lies, is determined to unravel these mysterious events, even if it endangers her own life.
I’m episode two, Wounded and on the run, Charlie is forced to make a pit stop in desolate New Mexico where she tries to clear the name of a trucker framed for the murder of a local.
In Episode Three, Charlie takes a job at a family-run Texas BBQ joint and must use her skills of perception to sniff out the truth behind a shocking death.
In Episode Four, Charlie goes on tour with has-been metal band Doxxxology, a motley crew of dejected rockers who’ve spent decades trying to write a new hit; Charlie suspects foul play when one musician winds up dead.
I’m episode five, Working at a retirement home, Charlie makes friends with two rebellious old ladies who may have taken matters into their own hands.
In Episode six, Charlie’s waitress job at a dinner theater is interrupted by a tragic death on stage during a performance by two washed-up television stars; when she starts to investigate, deadly motivations come to light.
In Episode Seven,While working at a go-kart complex, Charlie becomes involved in a bitter feud between an aging race car driver and a hotheaded young upstart, whose rivalry has explosive consequences.
In Episode eight, A special effects artist unearths a past project to find closure from the guilt of a fatal on-set accident; when old demons resurface, Charlie is left to unravel a new deadly plot.
In Episode Nine, Charlie finds herself stranded in a motel during a blizzard; in order to survive the night, Charlie must decipher the deadly tension between her questionable companions.
In the season finale, episode ten, Charlie faces her greatest challenge yet when she is caught in the crossfire of a deadly power play that puts her in the sights of two ruthless crime syndicates and the FBI.
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.
Charlie is so refreshing and the performers playing opposite her are top flight. (Fun to see Benjamin Bratt again and Adrian Brody is great.
And that smoky voice of her is as appealing to listen to as her disaster zone of hair is to watch.
Good production values, some great cynical jokes makes this a good choice for you, if you like a semi-realistic drama with a sprinkling of black humor.
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.
At first, you’d be forgiven if you would think that the mystery would be her finding out the true nature of the crime, but actually, the mystery is something that is even being kept from the audience so far, which is very exciting and gives them a good reason to tune in every week.
It’s not a classic murder mystery in that way, but it’s certainly good at paying homage to many of the old detective movies
and shows from the past.
But like a lot of those projects, Rian Johnson is focused on crafting an interesting character study, blended in with the mystery aspects. And Charlie is a fascinating individual who has a lot of skills, but also a very complicated background that will hopefully be revealed as the show progresses.
“Dead Man’s Hand”, the first episode/pilot, is not a classic whodunnit like you’d expect from Rian Johnson, but it’s even more fascinating because of what it reveals and doesn’t. The main character is a fascinating protagonist and Natasha Lyonne does a brilliant job of bringing her to the screen, and with Johnson’s writing.
There are many reasons as to why the procedural will never go away. Most of all, it’s because there are a thousand or so shows that use the format, and they’re all being watched by someone. Now there is an argument to be made that the more creative side of the procedurals have definitely gone away over the last couple of years. However, there are some shows that prove why there are still aspects of it that can work. The latest of which are Rian Johnson’s new Peacock show “Poker Face.” I originally thought that this was going to be a show about a woman trying to escape the people who wanted to kill her for her actions during the first episode, but it actually turned out to be a show about Charlie Cale, traveling around the United States and solving crimes in these small towns that she visits. Not only is this a brilliant idea, but it’s so baffling to me that no one would have done this before. It’s heavily inspired by “Columbo,” but the DNA is so purely its own and that’s why this show continues to impress with every episode they’ve done so far. The third episode is definitely the show’s best so far and a lot of it is due to Natasha Lyonne’s incredible portrayal of Cale, as well as the show’s incredibly clever writing and how it brilliantly blends Lyonne’s dry humor with the suspense and mystery that is making this a show that quickly has become quite addictive.
For all that this show is doing so well, the best is utilizing the abilities of its star. Natasha Lyonne is clearly the bleeding heart of this show, and it also seems like the show has been built very knowingly around her comedic chops. There’s no way that the idea of having Charlie arguing with a racist MAGA dog was in the script before they knew that Lyonne was going to be its star, because it’s so perfect for her specifically. If this show had been an hour of that every week, it would have been worth it for me.
There’s a lot of fun in watching Charlie crack these cases, but over the last two episodes, the show has proven that its strongest aspect is actually the building blocks that come before it. The structure of the episodes is very interesting, and it plants Charlie in the middle of an event that we already know is going to happen, so watching her familiarize herself with the people around her, makes it all the more heartbreaking when the audience knows what’s going to happen. The writing for this episode – by Wyatt Cain – perfectly utilizes that structure to make it all more heartbreaking.
In many ways, this show is also aiming at showing how normal people will never make good killers, as they always leave something behind. Charlie is a very smart character, but her real talent is to immediately understand that the people around her aren’t. In this episode, she goes up against Lil Rel Howery’s character, who is not a criminal mastermind and really sucks at trying to commit a murder. Therefore, it doesn’t seem so unbelievable that Charlie – a normal woman from Nevada – would be able to solve these mysteries and that’s one of the show’s greatest attraction points.
And in all of its glory, it also provides the audience with some truly hilarious moments. All the moments with the dog are gold, and the interactions between it and Lyonne are brilliant. All the supporting characters have their moments to shine and also glow with the comedy, with a lot of the more subtle nuances in their faces being what really cracked me up. Lil Rel Howery can read from a phone book and make it funny, so no surprise that he nails this character. But it really is Lyonne’s lead character that makes this show must watch TV.
“The Stall” brings the show along with a highly addictive hour of TV that utilizes its protagonist and its lead star so well. It also brilliantly plants the structure and how it can be used in this show, while also showing there will always be a fresh direction for a show with constant solid writing.
Did you know?
Rian Johnson’s first TV series that he created
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