Truth, Truth, Bullshit: Thread for Poker Face (aka Rian Johnson & Natasha Lyonne Do Columbo)

https://mlpnk72yciwc.i.optimole.com/cqhiHLc.IIZS~2ef73/w:auto/h:auto/q:75/https://bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Poker-Face-_-TCA-Exclusive-Look-1-13-screenshot.jpg

^^^ me irl

This show is great & if any of you nerds come here to say it was boring I’ll punch you in the dick

jk jk say whatever you like

first 4 eps now streaming on Peacock

No, punch them in the dick, because this fucking rules.

the barracuda!
the trailer!
the pyjamas & bathrobe!

am only 1 ep in but i think i am in tv heaven

also adrien brody is excellent when he plays “smooth-seeming dirtbag”

Bummed that RJ BFF Noah Segan is only in ep 1 and not like playing a different character in every episode

Otherwise episode 1 was a good time I will watch more of this show

Hey maybe he IS a different character in each episode, you never know. (I know the next three are up but I’ll get to them soon enough.)

adrien brody is excellent when he plays “smooth-seeming dirtbag”

I felt like Adrien Brody was playing James Caan.

Fun show. I’ll watch more.

We watched episode one which was fun, then decided to watch Columbo which neither of us had ever seen, and when the credits rolled and I saw the episode had been directed by Spielberg I screamed and freaked my girlfriend out.

First episode was fun, some of it looked like crap (and not in a grimy '70s homage way but lazy video lighting - thinking of some of the shots of Brody), hope episode 2 is even better without having to explain her backstory.

episode 2 is great

the show is solidly murder-of-the-week territory, minimal story arc episode to episode

its so funny/great that a format that was beaten like a dead horse for so long comes back around & is actually refreshing

there’s some great camera work too

AND

normal-ass looking people. no super beautiful white teeth shiny hair
charlie’s got split ends, this guy’s a dirty sweaty mess, that guy’s hella weird, she’s got too much makeup for a day job, she looks washed out. i mean sure brody, bratt, they’re handsome dudes but they still fit in this world. everyone has a slight sheen of sweat.

the casting, extras, walkons, minor characters, really interesting faces & vibes

this aspect alone is a joy to me

All true. And great examples of rough and easy camaraderie throughout episode 2. (And spectacular casting as well.)

the dude that startles her outside the subway looked SO great

This didn't click with me until the third episode and I think I realize why: it's Johnson's directorial style. Something too goofy about it for me - like everything needs to come across as clever down to the edits. Once I got to #3 I was able to enjoy the proceedings without this sort of - for me - grating archness. PS I love fun!

Lyonne is great in this btw.

this is the new 'it' show isn't it. can't wait to hear jibba Jabba about it at the bar

intersection of people into this show and those that order aperol spritzes = 100%

I don’t feel like watching more than one episode at a time because there’s a satiated feeling when each one wraps. I believe this is a good thing.

xpost alfred hasn’t even posted itt yet

I feel like each of the first four episodes was exponentially better than the last, and REST IN METAL was A++, no notes.

this is great, for fucking real!

time for some hyperbole, it's better than Columbo

man that racist dog in ep3 was cute as hell

the gene hackman line made me lol

Episode 3 my fave but 4 was a pip.

ep 3 had it all, even a happy ending for the extremely cute fascist dog!

Do people really subscribe to Peacock? The balkanization of streaming is just so frustrating, I imagine also to the artists involved.

"Great news, everybody! We've been picked up!"

"Cool, where are we streaming?"

"Peacock!"

...

"Oh. At least it's not Starz."

after we ditched netflix we signed up for peacock, they had a lot of shows + tour de france & affordable

its p decent!

I got a year for $2 a month before Christmas - I liked The Resort so I figured there'd be something else to watch and I set it up at my mom's house so she could watch all the Yellowstone Cinematic Universe stuff.

it's bundled with the flat's internet but the TV doesn't get the app and streaming from a phone has only worked once in two years so I torrent anything I remember I want to watch on it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

No Peacock in Canada, but for once I lucked out: the show is available to stream through a channel (City TV) that is already part of our Bell subscription package (I just found out I can watch Paul T. Goldman, which I'd been wanting to see, on this as well).

as a USian, City TV is famous to me as a channel that pirates would use to upload torrents for shows right after they aired, presumably because it aired things in Atlantic Standard Time, or even earlier

City TV rips sourced soooooo many gifs.

Cool! City TV used to be a great source for old movies (uncensored, though with ad breaks) back in the day as well --I remember seeing things as wildly varied as Hitchcock's Sabotage and The Blue Lagoon on there.

A wise man once told me, “If you want to hurt greedy streaming services, you hit them where it hurts (and still watch their actually quite good sometimes shite!).”

Caught up with 3 and 4, and how perfectly complementary -- 3 is for anyone who ever DJed and needed bathroom breaks, 4 is for the actual bands. (All great, of course.)

I'm extremely down with the formula-as-such that's now clear where you try and figure out how Lyonne fits into the overall scenario before she actually appears on screen. (I mostly guessed 4 just before she appeared.)

I'm pretty into this, yeah. I realized with Russian Doll that I'm just like 100% onboard with watching Natasha Lyonne do whatever her current shtick is pretty much all the time. Give her a talk show, fer cryin' out loud. And the Columbo-esque formula (which avoids being at all slavish) is verra nice.

Uh, did we know that one of our own was going to make quite a sizable appearance in this show? Impressive stuff!

echoing everybody - all four episodes are stellar. massive lol at the bbq guy going vegan after watching okja - reckon bong joon-ho would have appreciated that

great rs feature on the show (+ bonus extended interviews with johnson and lyonne): https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/poker-face-rian-johnson-natasha-lyonne-interview-1234646956/

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/rian-johnson-interview-poker-face-peacock-glass-onion-natasha-lyonne-daniel-craig-mystery-1234659173/

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/natasha-lyonne-poker-face-accent-tripping-acid-new-york-city-rian-johnson-1234659240/

xpost We did! At least on FB and elsewhere. Great to see and some amazing LOL moments.

A little more on that:

https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/how-john-darnielle-ended-up-in-tvs-poker-face/

This one's good too

https://consequence.net/2023/01/john-darnielle-poker-face-interview-mountain-goats-rian-johnson/2/

Definitely enjoyed the first episode, though why anyone would go back to the people they knew had killed their friend just to say 'ha! i screwed you over!' beats me. I like how her, ahem, superpower, is just an explicitly stated version of what i always suspected about columbo - maybe not in so many words but he seemed to figure who the murderer was as soon as he talked to them.

An insignificant continuity error I only spotted because I watched the intro twice trying to get it stream without stuttering from vlc on my phone to the chromecast - when natalie first goes into the presidential suite she leaves the hoover in the middle of the room, when she returns to take the picture it's by the door.

The surprisingly sentient Hoover is the murderer in episode 3 so I assume that was intentional, sorry 2 spoil

Ep 3 recycled the “use a pre recording as live broadcast while I go kill someone” and “not what you hear, but what you don’t hear” gotchas from early season columbo episodes. I liked the first ep but I can see this becoming a bit of a slog

Another great episode tonight — casting was choice and it went unexpected directions!

wonder if it's ever gonna just be a crime and not a murder. Seems crazy that everywhere she goes somebody dies. I know, suspend disbelief etc etc. Also how every single average person is a criminal murder mastermind.

yeah I think last night’s ep was my favorite so far, loved the story & the casting was sooo great

xpost - I mean...that IS Columbo.

New episode might be my fave so far as well. I will say that, between this and The Politician, Judith Light becoming the face of polyamory on television in the current decade was most unexpected.

i was SO convinced that Melanie Lynskey was going to be revealed as final boss at the very end, purely based on her casting lol. Like that maybe SHE sent Sketch to pull one over on them. I was SO SURE OF IT. And at the end i’m all “oh wow so her orphanage story was legit? huh. ok”

Completely agreed, I was second guessing her almost all the way to the end, especially since of course Charlie never meets her and therefore she can't sense if *she* was telling the truth, which I'm sure was very intentional.

And once again this show does no wrong. Just the opening credit font alone!

laughed really hard at the Vague magazine joke

Perfect setup and delivery for that one.

I was confused because there was a vague! British new wave magazine but figure they were just going for the joke.

What’s with the underuse of Patti Harrison though!

I’m up to One Last Job and I feel like it’s the first one that has really reached the level of the 1st series. But it really did, and then some. Tremendous.

xp Patti Harrison is also credited for episode 10 per IMDB. Probably just setting up her character in this one.

Last two episodes have been really good!

xpost That to my mind answers a question I had, which is whether or not we'd see Charlie on the road again after this episode. Didn't get that sense from the ending of the last one.

The original Vague magazine fyi https://pc-press.co.uk/shop/vague-fanzines-book-volume-1-1979-1984-issues-1-15/

Feels like this season is building to a reveal about the Steve Buscemi CB character, but it doesn’t have the same drive as the pursuit in s1.

Based on this week's episode I think you're right, since I'm guessing we're in NYC for the rest of the season; the fact that the last episode is called "The End of the Road" leads me to think we'll see Steve B come 'home.'

As for this episode, for me the first actual 'mid' one of the whole season (which is still a great batting average), less about the story this time and more about the moments and elements, and most especially whatever swerve with Patti Harrison's character is happening here.

This one was worth it for Method Man doing something new acting-wise. Give that man a Wednesday night sitcom.

The con artist episode was fantastic.

it really was

Top fucking notch.

The con artist episode was fantastic.

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 2 July 2025 21:54 (yesterday)

this could describe any episode, or was that the joke

There’s an episode specifically about a gang of con artists

It felt like there were a few nods to House Of Games in there.. the 80s feel to the poolhall, the divey exterior, the sign saying “Fun & Games”

Yeah, definitely connections.

Anyway, today's! Going big in a few ways here.

Haley Joel Osment should do an Orson Welles biopic

YIPPEE KIYAY OYSTER SHUCKERS

“dressed like Steamboat Willie” had me rolling

yes, also "ROW THE LITTLE BOAT" and "no oyster left behind"

All the jokes! Absolutely amazing. Alex aiming to get her groove on with Hot Toddy, a delight.

New Patti Harrison interview with some fun details here -- we almost saw her in the pilot! Nothing against the amazing Dascha Polanco but kinda glad she's sticking around with this role instead.

https://deadline.com/2025/07/poker-face-patti-harrison-clea-duvall-season-2-casting-1236446427/

And you know, milo z is absolutely right re Haley Joel. (Poor Avicii, I wonder if his shade would appreciate knowing his most famous track is now a signifier of a douchey scamlord wedding.)

I note that we haven't 1) seen the actual hit man's looks yet and 2) have no explanation about why his voice is presumably different but anyway -- point one is interesting because I *alllllmost* wonder if it turns out to be Steve Buscemi's character though I dunno. Guess we'll find out!

Oh wow, for some reason I thought episode 10 was the season finale. Didn't even realize there was a new one.

Yup! This new one and one more next week!

Oh and I appreciate how they leaned into the Columbo meta factor in a rather unexpected way.

the “human sous-vide” vacuum seal setup of the opening scene was WILD

also loved the way Theroux played the cross eyed gag, it was so fucking funny to me every single time

Season finale!

It fucking ruled!

May this show live forever. I can't even begin.

I hope we’ve been introduced to next season’s sidekick.

That would be something.

Big ol’ Rian Johnson interview — tons of spoilers obv.

fun season!

me during that episode:

"Harvey Fierstein?!"
...
"Steve Earle?!"

Fun ending but a ton of plot holes too

I dunno if they intended to mislead in this way but for a minute I was sure the assassin/pal would pull her face off to reveal theroux underneath

Oh I was thinking that too but also going “How would he have pulled THAT off?” It clearly was dangled as something for the audience to consider, as well as a lot of the diner extras looking a certain way.

I didn’t miss any Steve Buscemi wrap up did I? After she sublets his apartment we never hear from him again.

Didn't enjoy that season as much as the first one; still very good. Really liked Patti Harrison, especially that chunky PVC thing she wore at the end, yikes. Alia Shawkat was the best baddie. Corey Hawkins chemistry was surprisingly off the scale - that episode hurt :(

Thought it was a nice touch how Justin Theroux appeared for about three seconds before being offed in Part 2.

I didn’t miss any Steve Buscemi wrap up did I?

Nope, so theoretically that's still something they could play around with in the next season.

Just caught up with the finale. There were some episodes this season I liked a lot - eg the Sleazy Georgian - but overall feel like s1 v s2 is a lot like Knives Out v Glass Onion.

There were more goofy episodes this time, and I tended to like the more intense ones. The Best-Buy one was a nice sweet spot.

liked this season a lot, pretty solid all the way through. how did the FBI guys get down there so fast in the finale lol

In terms of silly/goofy, Johnson touched on that directly in his season wrap up interview with Sepinwall:

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/rian-johnson-poker-face-last-jedi-knives-out-1235379849/

Q. It seems like you felt more free to be silly this season with things like the freeze-frame, the alligator episode, and the gym episode with the breast milk. How did you license yourself to go to those places?

A. You’re right, that is very much distinct to the season. And I don’t know if we’ll do that if we keep making the show this way. I think you can tell from talking to me that the show is very much follow your bliss. I just felt like I wanted to have fun this season, and be a little bit sillier. And maybe an audience does, too. You push and pull, and you see if you go too far, and this and that. I didn’t want to delve into heavy questions about the nature of truth, even though the show inevitably has some elements of that. I wanted to just have fun, and I trusted that instinct, that maybe at least some of the audience would go with that as well.

I'd say the alligator episode is where it went too far, that was the only episode I didn't like at all.

ha i'm the exact opposite, goofier the better imo, lets have an ep with two alligators in s3

yeah i liked the goofy stuff, it felt very true to long running 70’s tv storylines where they’d put ANYTHING in a plot

To be more clear, I don't mind goofy at all, I just thought Kumail was terrible in that episode and ruined it for me.

Thought Gaby Hoffman had one of the best guest performances of the season in that episode - i’d watch a show around that character

Yeah she was so good!