Rian Johnson has become the king of the mystery genre with Knives Out, Glass Onion, and now Poker Face. The new series follows Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne), who has a unique ability to tell if people are lying to her. Each week, Charlie finds herself in the middle of a new mystery, pulled in by her skills as a human lie detector and an unexpected circumstance.
However, instead of the Agatha Christie style of whodunit mystery, Poker Face takes inspiration from the classic mystery television series Columbo. The "case of the week" style of storytelling allows Charlie to explore new mysteries and characters in every episode. Poker Face features an impressive cast, including Jameela Jamil, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lil Rel Howery, Clea DuVall, Nick Nolte, and countless others.
Screen Rant spoke with Johnson about his new series, Poker Face. Johnson explains how Poker Face is a "how catch 'em" to Knives Out and Glass Onion's whodunit. He reveals how the series fits into the Knives Out universe and reveals who he'd like to work with on a second season.
Rian Johnson On Poker Face
Screen Rant: I absolutely love this show. Every single episode just gets better and better, with the mystery increasing. Mysteries are an iconic genre across all media, but what is it about whodunit-style mysteries like Agatha Christie that really speak to you? Why do you think it's captured the audience's attention the way it has?
Rian Johnson: I mean, it's such a fun genre, with Knives Out and Glass Onion. It's a genre that I've been reading and watching since I was a kid. I feel like every few decades there's a wave where people remember exactly how fun it is. And now with Poker Face, it's a slightly different mystery type.
As opposed to a whodunit, I describe it as a "how catch 'em," because we show you who's done it in the first act, and then it's how Natasha going to catch them, which is a whole other subgenre of the mystery that I love. For me, it's fun because it's a slightly different. It's an adjacent playground, with a little bit of different mechanics. But I still love playing in it.
I might be dating myself here, but it reminds me a little bit of Columbo, whereas Glass Onion and Knives Out take a page out of Agatha Christie. Why did you want to tap into that form of mystery storytelling?
Rian Johnson: It all goes back to the same way that I was tapping back into my childhood memories of Agatha Christie. I was thinking back to sitting on the carpet in front of the TV in my parents' living room watching TV as a kid and watching reruns every day. The joy of that and the joy of tuning in every single day to watch a new mystery where it's kind of the same format, so you know what to expect, but it's going to surprise you.
More than that though, the great characters like James Garner as Rockford or Tom Selleck as Magna Pi or Falk as Columbo—those shows were more hangout shows than anything else. You didn't really tune in for the mystery. You tuned in to hang out with Falk. And so when I became friends with Natasha and realized she could be that for a show, I got really, really excited. That's where the whole thing started.
Natasha was in the Among Us scene with Benoit Blanc. I know it's labeled Natasha, not Charlie, but do Poker Face and Glass Onion and Knives Out take place in the same universe, and could we potentially see a little team-up?
Rian Johnson: Well, you want to hear a twisted web? Try and untangle this. She is Natasha in that she's in her trailer on the set of Poker Face. If you look at her background, it's her trailer. She's in between takes when we're shooting Poker Face. I just said, "Get on the Zoom real quick and do it."
So, I have no idea how you untangle that. I guess in the Glass Onion universe, Poker Face is a show that's being shot. I'll have an episode of Poker Face on the background in the next Benoit Blanc mystery, maybe.
Natasha is so good in this show. Can you talk to me about collaborating with her, and what she brought to the role of Charlie that wasn't on the page?
Rian Johnson: Yeah, it goes deep. My first conversation with her [was] the first thing I did... It's not like I wrote the show and then cast her in it. We've been collaborators from the very, very start. This is really a show that we built together. And she also co-wrote and directed one of the great episodes in it, episode eight. It's absolutely amazing. It's so good.
For me, this has really been a team sport with Natasha from the very beginning. Onscreen, I feel like what's so watchable to me is the character of Charlie has a sunniness to her. She likes people, and she's genuinely curious about them. And then when you take the natural hard edge Natasha has, and you meld those two things, it just creates this beautiful kind of peanut buttercup of two flavors that go really well together. And it makes me want to come back and keep hanging out with her, which is the essence of this show.
Yeah, you have so many incredible guest stars on this show, Judith Light, Hong Chau, which is probably my favorite...
Rian Johnson: So good, man.
Jamila Jameel, Tim Meadows... Is there any that stick out to you the most? And is there anybody that you'd like to get for season 2?
Rian Johnson: I mean, every single one of them stuck out. It was just every single week that was like, "I can't believe we have Nick Nolte and Cherry Jones. I can't believe we have Ellen Barkin. I can't believe we have Tim Blake Nelson." It's absolutely incredible.
For season 2, I never want to say names out loud because I never want to jinx some. There's so many different people. If I could talk Jamie Lee Curtis into showing up for one of these, I would in a heartbeat. Her first job was in an episode of Colombo. Google it. She has a great scene with Peter Faulk in the diner, where she plays a waitress.
Full circle, Rian.
Rian Johnson: There we go, man. Let's do it.
I'm hoping someday we get another Star Wars trilogy for you, maybe a whodunit in space, but incredible job on the show. I really appreciate your time.
Rian Johnson: Thank you so much, man. I appreciate it.
About Poker Face
Poker Face follows Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne), who has an uncanny ability to know if someone is lying to her, when she hits the road in her trusty Plymouth Barracuda. Every stop pulls her into a new mystery with a unique cast of characters that she can't help but solve. Ryan Johnson's new series is a "how catch 'em" style of mystery inspired by the television classic Columbo.
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Poker Face premieres January 26 on Peacock.