Poker Face Season 1 - What We Know So Far

Natasha Lyonne is one of the most acclaimed actors of the past decade. She is probably best known for playing the brash and combative Nicky Nichols from the Netflix megahit "Orange is the New Black," which ran from 2013 until 2019 and won four Emmy trophies among its 21 nominations.

After earning four nominations of her own for another popular Netflix series, "Russian Doll"  — three for her portrayal of Nadia Vulvokov and one for her writing –  she became even more in demand for directors and producers. "Russian Doll" finished its second season this past April, and Lyonne has said she intends for the series to wrap up after three seasons. There is no official word yet on when, or if, Season 3 of "Russian Doll" might hit Netflix, but her success and potential availability should certainly have fans wondering what might be next for the New York native actor, writer, and producer.

Lyonne will next appear in the Peacock serial mystery/comedy "Poker Face," but just what do we know about her upcoming project?

According to Deadline, the first season of "Poker Face" will consist of 10 episodes and will premiere on January 26, 2023. The first four episodes will drop on that date with subsequent chapters following each week on Thursdays.

In an interview on "Late Night with Seth Myers," Natasha Lyonne commented on the difference between Netflix and broadcast releases. Referring to "Orange is the New Black," Lyonne said, "What I learned from that show, thankfully, is, you know — all year — all year everybody waits for the show to come out and it's a 13-hour show. They consume it in under 30 minutes flat. I don't know how they do it. That's where I learned about the space-time continuum."

The Peacock weekly release schedule will give Lyonne and company a break from that phenomenon and surely have impatient fans on the edge of their seats waiting for new installments. It will also leave Lyonne's brain free to craft new stories and not worry about the vagaries of the universe and other metaphysical mysteries.

"Poker Face" is described as a mystery-comedy-drama with Natasha Lyonne playing Charlie Cale, who has a knack for deducing when someone isn't telling the truth. As noted in a joint statement from Lyonne and "Poker Face" creator Rian Johnson: "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)" (via Deadline).

Lyonne and Johnson also clued potential viewers into the show's genesis, giving credit to a dinner conversation the two shared. "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." 

Appearing alongside Natasha Lyonne in "Poker Face" is a slate of guest stars with familiar faces. According to Deadline, this includes Lil Rel Howery ("Get Out," "Bad Trip") who will play a local sheriff, Rhea Perlman ("Cheers," "Class Act"), Jameela Jamil ("The Good Place," "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law"), Ellen Barkin ("Ocean's Thirteen," "The Big Easy"), Nick Nolte ("48 Hrs," "Cape Fear"), Joseph Gordon-Levitt ("3rd Rock from the Sun," "Inception"), and Tim Meadows ("Saturday Night Live," "Mean Girls").

The list of guest stars also includes Adrien Brody, Angel Desai, Audrey Corsa, Benjamin Bratt, Brandon Michael Hall, Charles Melton, Chelsea Frei, Cherry Jones, Chloë Sevigny, Clea DuVall, Colton Ryan, Danielle MacDonald, Dascha Polanco, Hong Chau, Jasmine Aiyana Garvin, Judith Light, Leslie Silva, Luis Guzmán, Megan Suri, Niall Cunningham, Nicholas Cirillo, Reed Birney, Ron Perlman, Rowan Blanchard, S. Epatha Merkerson, Shane Paul McGhie, Simon Helberg, Stephanie Hsu, and Tim Blake Nelson.

Creator Rian Johnson ("Knives Out") will direct, write, and co-executive produce "Poker Face" along with his frequent collaborator Ram Bergman and Natasha Lyonne (per Deadline).

Lyonne and Johnson recently met at a party and instantly clicked. She told Vanity Fair, "I just loved the idea of collaborating with Rian, and I was very moved that he wanted to do this together because he just felt like such a wonderful person to know for a long time." In a statement via TheWrap, Johnson said, "I'm very excited to dig into the type of fun, character driven, case-of-the-week mystery goodness I grew up watching. It's my happy place. Having Natasha as a partner in crime is a dream, and we've found the perfect home at Peacock."

Lisa Katz, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming's president of scripted content, said, "Rian Johnson's distinct sensibility and talent for telling edge-of-your-seat mysteries is a massive gift for Peacock, and we can't wait for audiences to delve into each case. Paired with the acting genius of Natasha Lyonne, this series will be entertaining and addictive." Johnson and Lyonne will be joined as co-executive producers by Maya Rudolph and Danielle Renfrew Behrens.

Peacock released a "Poker Face" teaser to YouTube last month, in which Adrien Brody's character tells Charlie, "I'm happy to finally meet you, Miss Cale. You've got this gift. Always knowing the truth." She responds, "I only know if something is a lie. The real trick of it is to figure out why."

There are brief shots of a bar interior, a body bag being zipped closed, and Ron Perlman with his familiar white goatee, along with some shots of a tree-lined rural road — all pretty much without context but set to the Animals classic, "House of the Rising Sun." Although the song specifically mentions New Orleans, none of the visual clues in the teaser indicate that "Poker Face" takes place in The Big Easy. 

In one sequence, Charlie sits across from Lil Rel Howery's sheriff character, debating the nature of the murder they are trying to solve, again without context. While the teaser offers little in the way of solid information about the path the show will take, the cinematography is striking and there is an obvious light tone to the dialogue, especially for a murder mystery.