REVIEW: ‘Poker Face’ Season 2 Revitalizes The Inverted Detective Story Format In A Unique And Creative Way

The Emmy Award-winning and Golden Globe-nominated Poker Face returns for a second season on Peacock, and this time with more murder, mysteries, guest stars and, most importantly, more Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne). Rian Johnson, known for the Knives Out film series, which follows the murder/mystery genre, took what worked so well with that format and brought it to television by providing audiences with a new mystery every week.

At the end of Poker Face Season 1, Charlie Cale was on the run from Sterling Frost, Sr (Ron Perlman) and his henchman Cliff (Benjamin Bratt) after she was blamed for the death of his son, Sterling Frost, Jr (Adrien Brody), who took his own life after Charlie exposed his corruption. This led Charlie to skip town and jump from town to town while bumping into various characters with their own problems that often involved murder and had Charlie solving their cases. Once Senior found out that his son was working for rival Beatrix Hasp (Rhea Perlman), he planned to have Charlie help him take her down, but Cliff, who was also working for Hasp kills Senior, frames Charlie, and also testifies against Hasp once Charlie hands evidence of her innocence to the FBI. Hasp gives Charlie an offer she can't deny, but she does, which leads Hasp to put a bounty on her head with the five families now on her neck.

What makes Poker Face such an entertaining watch is its capability to draw its viewers to the case of the week and how they execute it. Charlie Cale has a gift where she's able to tell whenever a person is lying. There's not more to her gift besides that, and there isn't really any rule to how it works, but with a show like Poker Face, it would take away from the magic if there was a background given to Charlie's special gifts. Moreover, it's Charlie's gift to find herself in a new location and coincidentally befriend or get directly involved with the victim of the episode or someone who knew the victim, which always leads to her figuring out there's a liar in her midst.

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With Charlie on the run once again but this time from Beatrix Hasp, she ends up finding herself at funerals, schools, golf courses, gyms and many more locations. Charlie Cale isn't a detective; she doesn't aspire to be a private investigator; it just happens to be the life that finds her. What separates Charlie Cale from some of the other characters that Natasha Lyonne finds herself playing is that Charlie is a character that loves people. She loves interacting with them even if some of them don't show any interest in her. She always makes a friend in every episode, and this personal connection that she makes with the people she meets is what leads her to caring about the lives she hears about that lead to her normally solving a murder case. It's Charlie Cale's character and Natasha Lyonne's performance that remind the viewers of how human Poker Face can be as a show.

There tends to be some worry when the show follows a formula every episode: we witness the murder/incident, how Charlie finds herself in the situation and finally watch her solve the mystery. The huge question was, will this ever get stale? The answer to that is no, it doesn't. Poker Face quickly brings an end to the mob chase story arc, and while it would've been interesting to see how it would've played out over the course of a season once more, realistically, it would've gotten repetitive. It was nice to see a change of pace with the show focusing on what it intended to be from the start, an episodic series.

Rian Johnson and Tony Tost have brought together a league of talented writers that keep these episodes fresh, unique and creative, and although they all stick to that same formula, it truly feels like you're watching something that you haven't seen before and is unlike the episode that came before. The stakes were always high in Season 1, as she had death chasing after her through America, but Season 2 brings more of these stakes within the mysteries themselves and puts Charlie in situations that are lethal. While the first season had a great set of episodes, this second season takes advantage of its writers to give us stories that we would've never expected.

If you want to see Charlie Cale face off against an eight-year-old girl in a school, then Poker Face Season 2 will give you exactly that. We know how she can handle herself with adults and murderers, but how does Charlie do when she's presented with a kid who loves to blackmail and sabotage for her own gain? Poker Face Season 2 keeps you on your toes as it stays being different but continues to deliver messages that are important to life and living as the best possible human you can be. A human that makes mistakes but who's also honest.

Poker Face wouldn't be the show it is without its guest stars, and the second season has dozens who bring electric, haunting and erratic performances to the table. The standout from the first ten episodes is without a doubt Cynthia Erivo who plays quintuplets and she's able to bring a unique identity to each one without it seeming like Cynthia is playing just one character. While there are some glaring editing issues in that first episode, it's clear that Cynthia gives her all with that performance, has fun with it and also ensures that it's one of her best performances yet in her career.

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The guest stars only just begin with Cynthia Erivo. Poker Face Season 2 brings you John Cho, John Mulaney, Justin Theroux, Giancarlo Esposito, David Krumholtz, Geraldine Viswanathan, Melanie Lynskey, Kumail Nanjiani and so much more. That barely scratches the surface of everyone that's involved. But for fans of Natasha Lyonne and her time on Orange is the New Black, Poker Face Season 2 reunites her once again with Adrienne C. Moore and Taylor Schilling.

Cynthia Erivo isn't the only standout performance from the first ten episodes; the young and talented Eva Jade Halford, who plays Stephanie in Episode 6, is without a doubt one of the most chilling performances seen in this entire show, and it doesn't come from an adult murderer but a child obsessed with overachieving. If Eva's performance in this episode was a sign of anything, it's that she's a horror star in the making.

Poker Face continues to take the inverted detective story format and revitalise it for the modern era of television. There's an episode for everyone, and with the eventual switch into its episodic style, it allows for freedom of which episode viewers can choose to watch and for rewatchability. Tony Tost does an excellent job as showrunner for this second season and brings on an equally talented group of writers and guest actors to bring this show to life. It's hilarious, entertaining, and a real fun time, but most importantly, it has Natasha Lyonne, who keeps the show grounded and real, no matter how surreal the show can feel at times.

Rating: ★★★★½

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About Poker Face

Poker Face. © Peacock

Premiere Date: May 8, 2025

Episode Count: 12

Executive Producer/Showrunner: Tony Tost, Ram Bergman, Nena Rodrigue, Adam Arkin, Nora Zuckerman, Lilla Zuckerman

Writer: Laura Deeley, Alice Ju, Natasha Lyonne, Wyatt Cain, Tony Tost, Kate Thulin, Taofik Kolade, Megan Amram, Tea Ho, Raphie Cantor, Andrew Sodroski

Director: Rian Johnson, Natasha Lyonne, Miguel Arteta, Lucky McKee, John Dahl, Adam Arkin, Mimi Cave, Adamma Ebo, Clea Duvall, Ti West

Production: Animal Pictures, T-Street

Distribution: Peacock

Cast: Natasha Lyonne, Adrienne C. Moore, Alia Shawkat, Awkwafina, Ben Marshall, B.J. Novak, Carol Kane, Cliff "Method Man" Smith, Corey Hawkins, Cynthia Erivo, David Alan Grier, David Krumholtz, Favionte "GaTa" Ganter, Ego Nwodim, Gaby Hoffmann, Geraldine Viswanathan, Giancarlo Espositio, Haley Joel Osment, Jason Ritter, John Cho, John Mulaneyy, Justin Theroux, Katherin Narducci, Katie Holmes, Kevin Corrigan, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Tom, Lili Taylor, Margo Martindale, Melanie Lynskey, Natasha Leggero, Patti Harrison, Rhea Perlman, Richard Kind, Sam Richardson, Sherry Cola, Simon Helberg, Simon Rex, Taylor Schilling

Synopsis: Poker Face is a mystery-of-the-week series following Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie, who 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 solve.