Fans of whodunnits and murder-mysteries are eagerly awaiting the return of Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc in the upcoming Netflix-and-theatrical feature Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. But let’s not forget director Rian Johnson is also helping introduce audiences to another quirky investigator in the form of Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie Cale, the central character and connective hook for the new streaming series Poker Face, which will be available with a Peacock subscription before the year’s end. Thankfully, we finally have our first look at the new show in the form of a star-studded teaser trailer.
Check out the first footage from Poker Face below, and try to count all the famous faces that pop up during its 52-second runtime:
To quickly lay things out, Poker Face’s debut season consists of ten episodes that adhere to a mystery-of-the-week format, all centering on Lyonne’s Charlie, whose claim to low-key fame is that she’s unbelievably canny at knowing when others are lying. The show follows Charlie and her iconic ‘69 Plymouth Barracuda as she embarks on a road trip full of oddball crimes, murders clues, and a seemingly endless supply of guest stars to populate the weekly quandires and conundrums.
The teaser kicks off with the Oscar-winning Adrien Brody, and just keeps on delivering from there. Check out a relatively comprehensive rundown of all the show’s stars below:
- Adrien Brody, Benjamin Bratt, Chloë Sevigny, Sascha Polanco, Ron Perlman, Lil Rel Howery, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tim Meadows, Simon Helberg, S. Epatha Merkerson, Nick Nolte, Stephanie Hsu, David Castañeda, Audrey Corsa, Danielle Macdonald, Judith Light, Tim Blake Nelson, Niall Cunningham, Nicholas Cirillo, Jameela Jamil, Ellen Barkin, Luis Guzmán, Brandon Michael Hall, Megan Suri, Clea DuVall, Jasmine Aiyana Garvin, Rowan Blanchard, Rhea Perlman, and Charles Melton
As you no doubt noticed, less than half of the stars noted in that mega-list actually popped up in the teaser, and most of the ones who did were only seen for a brief second. But it’s still excellent to know we’re getting a reunion between Johnson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the star of Brick and Looper who has appeared in each of the director’s projects in some capacity. (Expect to see him in Glass Onion as well.) So audiences still have so much more to see from this show and its talented ensemble.
Rian Johnson and Natasha Lyonne shared a fun statement with fans alongside the teaser’s release, giving everyone a slightly more clear idea of what to expect from Poker Face. In their words:
What started as a discussion over steak frites about detective shows and what made them such a reliable pleasure—the exploration of little worlds within each new setting, the guest stars playing killers and victims, and most importantly, a scrappy protagonist you were always ready to kick back with and see win—ultimately resulted in the creation of Charlie, the driving force behind POKER FACE. We invite you to follow Charlie on a cross-country road trip as she meets a rogue’s gallery of characters and avenges a new injustice each episode, armed with little more than her uncanny ability to detect lies and a genuine appreciation for her fellow humans (and the occasional dog). Now please leave the overthinking to Rian, who has masterfully crafted ten self-contained puzzles for Charlie to solve. Just jump in the back of her ‘69 Plymouth Barracuda and enjoy the ride.
Rian Johnson is noted as the creator of Poker Face, which he executive produced along with Lyonne, and also directed. Lilla and Nora Zuckerman, former writers on shows such as Suits and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., are the showrunners.
Poker Face will attempt to pull the wool over viewers’ eyes when it debuts on the streaming service starting Thursday, January 26, with the first four episodes going live all at once ahead of weekly releases for the remaining six episodes. Head to our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see what other new and returning shows will be anteing up soon as we wait for the critic-pleasing Knives Out sequel to arrive.
