Director Rian Johnson’s crime drama Poker Face is not a whodunnit but a ‘howcatchem’

LOS ANGELES – One of the most critically acclaimed new series of 2023, Poker Face is not a whodunnit but a “howcatchem” – an inverted detective story that reveals the culprit at the beginning, then tracks the attempt to solve the case.

Debuting on Rock Entertainment (StarHub TV Channel 509, Singtel TV Channel 318 and mewatch) on Wednesday at 9.45pm, the crime drama – which has a 99 per cent “fresh” critics’ rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes – is created by hotshot Hollywood film-maker Rian Johnson, who wrote and directed the two Knives Out murder mystery films (2019 and 2022).

Here, the supersleuth is Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne), a Las Vegas cocktail waitress who can intuitively tell if someone is lying – a gift that not only unravels crimes, but also gets her in trouble.

The 10 episodes feature a revolving door of big-name guest stars, among them Oscar winner Adrien Brody (The Pianist, 2002) and Oscar nominees Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All At Once, 2022) and Hong Chau (The Whale, 2022).

At a press event in Los Angeles earlier in 2023, Johnson says he took inspiration from classic detective series he devoured as a child, such as Columbo (1968 to 2003), Magnum P.I. (1980 to 1988) and The Rockford Files (1974 to 1980).

“The intention with this show was the idea of doing a truly episodic case-of-the-week mystery show, like the kind of stuff I used to watch constantly when I was sitting in front of the television as a kid,” says the 49-year-old American, who also wrote and directed the science-fiction hit movies Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) and Looper (2012).

This is not Johnson’s first foray into television. He directed three of the most highly regarded episodes of the Emmy-winning crime drama Breaking Bad (2008 to 2013).

But Poker Face felt like a breath of fresh air after all the movies he wrote and directed, although each episode felt cinematic in its own way.

“I loved that in each episode, we’re in a different environment and it’s a whole new cast.

“It’s like making 10 mini movies,” Johnson says.

The film-maker, who picked up two screenwriting Oscar nominations for the Knives Out movies, also had a blast working with other writers for a change.

With his films, “I just sit in a room and eat horribly and feel constantly stressed that I’m way behind on my deadline”, he says.

After the first episode of Poker Face introduces Charlie, Johnson says viewers can enjoy the episodes in any order.

“For me, part of the pleasure is that as people watch more of the episodes and realise how different each one is, it’s a smorgasbord of possibilities, with different worlds we can dip into in each episode and whole new mysteries.”

But holding them all together requires a lead actress with a captivating screen presence, and Johnson knew Lyonne could deliver after watching her in the hit comedy-drama Russian Doll (2019 to present).

“When I saw Natasha in that, I thought, ‘Here is somebody who has the presence and the charisma such that I would want to come back and be with her every week and see her win.’”

Lyonne, 44, drew inspiration from some of the same TV icons as Johnson did, especially the late American actor Peter Falk, whose iconic portrayal of the blue-collar homicide detective Columbo provided a template for Charlie.

“I just love the guy. I’ve always gravitated to him,” says the American actress, who was Emmy-nominated for both Russian Doll and prison drama Orange Is The New Black (2013 to 2019).

And the actress says she herself is good at sizing people up, so it is not that difficult imagining being a human lie detector like her character.

“I’m somebody who has a pretty quick read on people, something you might call street smarts.

“But certainly, it would be more fun to have it in the way that Charlie does,” she says.

Poker Face premieres on Rock Entertainment (StarHub TV Channel 509, Singtel TV Channel 318 and mewatch) on Wednesday at 9.45pm.