New Financial Year 2024/2025 Streaming - Poker Face - Season One

Poker Face is one of those shows, once I have watched them, I ponder "why did I sleep on this". It was a really fun, "case-of-the-week" murder mystery series.

Created by Rian Johnson for streaming service, Peacock, streaming in Australia on Stan. That was before Stan lost the rights to Peacock series. They sure got the best of Peacock with Poker Face though.

Starring Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a casino worker on the run who entangles herself into several mysterious deaths of strangers along the way. I can't believe the first season commenced on Australia Day, 2023.

Following the first season, the series has received critical acclaim. Lyonne was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards.

A month after the series commenced, it was renewed for a second season. 

Poker Face is a murder mystery series stylised as a character-driven, case-of-the-week mystery, with each episode adapting the inverted detective story format popularised by Columbo.

The series centers on Charlie Cale, a casino worker with an innate ability to detect lies, traveling across the United States on the run from a casino boss following a suspicious death. Along the way, she encounters colorful characters and solves homicides in a variety of settings.

So who do we meet along the way? Adrien Brody stars as Sterling Frost Jr., as the manager of the casino where Charlie works. In the first episode we meet Brody and the only other actor who appears across multiple episodes. The excellent Benjamin Bratt as Cliff LeGrand, who works for Brody.

Fellow OITNB star, Dascha Polanco also appears in episodes one as Natalie Hill, Charlie's best friend and a maid at Frost's casino who comes across something insidious.

Following me seeing The Instigators last week, Hong Chau as Marge, a solitary, reclusive trucker who Charlie befriends. Each episode we meet multiple, I know them guest stars who make up the mystery of the week.

Aussie Danielle Macdonald appears as, Mandy Boyle, Taffy's sister-in-law who works with him and George. Much different to her recent role on The Tourist.

Playing a Courtney Love style rocker, Chloë Sevigny is Ruby Ruin, the leader and vocalist of the band Doxxxology, who struggles to find success and hires Charlie. This was one of my favourite episodes. A one-hit wonder band, touring shit hole venues across the US. Perfect for this road style, on the run mystery, whodunnit.

Animal Kingdom, kingpin, Ellen Barkin as Kathleen Townsend, an actress with a fading career who has a long-standing feud with Michael and Tim Meadows as Michael Graves, a mostly retired actor who has a long-standing feud with Kathleen. Now that was a fun at the theatre episodes too.

The super hot, Riverdale star, Charles Melton plays Davis McDowell, a young racer that Charlie befriends. Whilst I hate car racing, I really enjoyed this one. Melton is a hunk of burning love!

Lastly Joseph Gordon-Levitt, played Trey Nelson, a wealthy man on house arrest for insider trading. Maybe one of the weaker episodes, but three stars for the star power play!

Filming and casting is on the way for season two. Its a stacked line up of stars for season two thus far. With Giancarlo Esposito, Katie Holmes, Gaby Hoffmann, Kumail Nanjiani, Kathrine Narducci, Ben Marshall, Kevin Corrigan, and Sherry Cola all signing on.

Bring on season two Peacock/Stan!