Remember COLUMBO? Well, this is a modern remake of the excellent detective series from the 1970s starring Peter Falk. Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie pretty much channels Peter’s Columbo as the perennially rumpled, good-natured cocktail waitress on the run from the Vegas mob, who is most excellent at solving murders but with a twist – she can tell when anyone is lying. Handy, huh?
Creator Rian Johnson takes all his murder-mystery chops from his popular KNIVES OUT movies and front-loads this one-hour drama, streaming on Peacock, with the murder first and then how Charlie gets involved. Each episode is self-contained – one episode – one case to solve, all with the ongoing theme of Charlie being chased by Benjamin Bratt’s Cliff, who hates the chase and regrets his life choices. Guest stars abound, and Rian and Natasha do a wonderful job of balancing drama with comedy, as there are a lot of chuckles to be found in this who-dun-it.
Enjoy POKER FACE right now, streaming on Peacock.