The critics have spoken, and Poker Face is a universal hit. Just ahead of the show’s official debut on Peacock, the early reviews from critics have been unanimous with their praise for the Rian Johnson series, garnering Poker Face a perfect score of 100% at Rotten Tomatoes. We’ll have to see how the series fares with viewers with its audience score after its release, but as of now, the critics have all been very much enjoying the new show.
“Whether you’re tuning in for the brain-teasing mysteries or just want to get your weekly dose of Natasha Lyonne, this brilliant new series never disappoints,” says Lauren Coates of AwardsWatch.
“Poker Face is off to a great start, and it’s a welcome self-contained episodic series in the streaming world of drawn-out serialized storytelling,” adds CBR reviewer Josh Bell.
“By god, is it great,” glows Rachel Leishman of The Mary Sue, who can’t seem to get enough and gave the show a perfect score. “There has not been a show like this, that has me begging for more episodes and on the edge of my seat each week, in quite some time, and of course it is Rian Johnson (and Nora and Lilla Zuckerman) who has brought it to me.”
IGN Movies’ Samantha Nelson adds, “The mystery-of-the-week show is packed with quirky characters, humor with a bit of bite, and excellent performances from Lyonne and the murderers she must puzzle out how to bring to justice.”
And another perfectly-scored review of the series by Kate Sánchez of But Why Tho? A Geek Community states, “With all of Rian Johnson’s strengths and none of his weaknesses on display, Poker Face is some of the best television you will ever watch, and it knows that.”
Meanwhile, over here at MovieWeb, our own Matthew Mahler found the series to be “truly delightful,” feeling that Lyonne would “make Columbo proud.” He adds that “there’s a lot of fun to be had watching the character-based comic excellence of Lyonne solving offbeat crimes amidst an excellent supporting cast.”
Poker Face Is a Hit With Critics
The series has been described, as seen in some of the reviews, as a modern-day Columbo. It would seem that mystery would be a genre Rian Johnson excels in, given this show’s critical acclaim that follows the success of Knives Out and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. In Poker Face, which was created by Johnson, Natasha Lyonne plays Charlie Cale, a “human B.S. detector” who solves a different mystery with each episode utilizing her skills.
Johnson loves assembling big names together for his projects, and Poker Face is no exception. While Benjamin Bratt co-stars with Lyonne, some other familiar faces people will see in the show include Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Stephanie Hsu, Adrien Brody, Lil Rel Howery, Ellen Barkin, Chloe Sevigny, Jameela Jamil, Hong Chau, Simon Helberg, Nick Nolte, Ron Perlman, Tim Blake Nelson, Luis Guzman, and Rhea Perlman, among others.
Poker Face will start streaming on Peacock on Jan. 26, 2023, debuting its first four episodes. The remaining six episodes making up the first season will be released weekly on every Thursday thereafter.
