Rian Johnson's new TV series, Poker Face, runs the risk of copying his hit Knives Out franchise. The upcoming Rian Johnson Poker Face TV show will feature Russian Doll star Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a character with the extraordinary ability to detect when people are lying. The 10-episode case-of-the-week series follows Charlie on a cross-country road trip, with each stop introducing her to new characters and new crimes "she can't help but solve." As thrilling as that concept may sound, it feels like familiar ground for Rian Johnson, whose Knives Out murder mystery franchise will release its second installment, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, on November 23, 2022.
The premise of Poker Face sounds eerily similar to Rian Johnson's Knives Out film series. Natasha Lyonne's amateur detective embarking on a mystery-of-the-week journey, solving puzzles and meeting unusual characters along the way, feels very close to Daniel Craig's slightly-less-amateur Benoit Blanc tackling a fresh investigation in each Knives Out movie, solving puzzles and meeting unusual characters along the way. Poker Face even features a star-studded ensemble cast, just as the Knives Out movies do, including the likes of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tim Blake Nelson, and Jameela Jamil. One might also compare Cale's lie detector ability to Marta's vomiting in Knives Out.
Poker Face’s Case-Of-The-Week Format Could Be Amazing
Stories where a quirky detective solves a self-contained mystery in every installment, bringing in a fresh cast of faces for each case, are nothing new. Nevertheless, the format has proven especially effective for Rian Johnson, with Knives Out enjoying huge success, and plenty of anticipation surrounding its upcoming sequel. Johnson transferring this structure onto television could work brilliantly, especially with the captivating Natasha Lyonne in the starring role and an all-star cast featured in each episode.
If anything, the Knives Out franchise simply serves as proof that Rian Johnson can craft entertaining and complex stories featuring diverse characters and fantastic twists using a well-worn episodic mystery formula. Poker Face can only work, however, if it distances itself effectively enough from the storylines and style of Johnson's Knives Out films. If Poker Face devolves into a carbon copy of Knives Out remolded for television, both franchises will suffer as a result.
Poker Face Shouldn’t Just Be A Knives Out Copy
Poker Face can distance itself from Knives Out and avoid becoming a clone by taking inspiration from classic detective shows of the 1970s and 1980s instead of the Agatha Christie-style mysteries informing Knives Out. Additionally, Lyonne's Charlie Cale separates herself from Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc by not being an official detective. Cale is just an amateur with a unique, albeit very useful, ability, and a penchant for helping people. This distinction could allow Poker Face to avoid constant comparisons with Johnson's Knives Out. Poker Face must stand apart if audiences are to appreciate the series on its own merits without remembering that Knives Out did the same tricks better.
Poker Face demands a leading figure who can seize the overused formula of episodic mysteries and make it their own, and Natasha Lyonne's previous work on Russian Doll makes her the perfect choice to play a charismatic amateur sleuth. Surrounded by a strong supporting cast and buoyed by Rian Johnson's trademark witty plot lines, Poker Face stands a strong chance of standing apart from the cop show crowd. With Poker Face releasing barely more than two months after Benoit Blanc exposes the killer in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Rian Johnson's new TV show must immediately prove its worth in a sea of competing murder mysteries.