Critic Reviews

This series has everything — from a killer cast, deliciously clever dialogue, smartly delivered mysteries, and a creative team to die for. Peacock, it’s time to up the ante and bet on this series’ success. Poker Face has the potential to not only become the best series of 2023 but also inspire the industry to see the benefit of episodic storytelling that draws audiences into the glorious, nostalgia-filled realm of howcatchems again.

Natasha Lyonne comes off like the last pack of cigarettes in a world of vape pens. ... Poker Face rehumanizes and re-weirds TV crime, carving a third way between network franchises and prestige gloom. ... Here's a detective with no home, no gun, no phone, no supporting cast, a past to escape, and a doomed future. Hell of a hand, I'm all in.

If the format is lovingly pinched from Columbo, along with some memorable plot points, the social worlds Charlie dips into are not just inspired, but also vividly fleshed out. ... Of the many bespoke touches that make Poker Face a true midwinter gift, the greatest pleasure is in watching an extraordinary character, played by an extraordinary actor, puzzle her way through the bottomless mysteries of the human psyche.

To put it simply, Poker Face is a triumph — for Johnson and Lyonne, for modern-day TV, for the mystery genre in general, and — crucially — for Peacock.

A cut above the best. ... You need a consistent and entertaining center to keep things grounded and Lyonne’s shrugging-charismatic performance is as deft as they come.

Old-school television is rarely as fresh and funny—and cinematic—as this episodic thriller.

You could accuse Poker Face of lacking ambition by drawing so heavily on the past, but that would be missing the point. What Johnson, Lyonne, and the Zimmermans have done is identify what was so magnetic and crowd-pleasing about Columbo and his kin, and translate it to a whole new era, in ways that feel of the moment and fresh.

None of it works without a performer who knows exactly how to sell this kind of modern Columbo riff, and Lyonne completely gets “Poker Face.” She’s funny, engaged, charismatic, and perfect for the part, finding a great blend of wit and eccentricity.

Season 2, while still largely adhering to the format established in Season 1, never feels totally beholden to its established structure, in ways that create surprise on a regular basis. There’s even an episode where there’s no murder victim — not a human one, anyway. One thing remains consistent: Much of the joy of a Poker Face episode (ten of which were provided for review) is finding out how Charlie fits into whatever tale is unfolding.

Poker Face‘s three-episode season-two premiere is a little like a speedrun through everything that worked so well in season one, with each installment serving as a handy reminder of why fans dig this series.