Disappointing.
I so wanted to love this, and without Natasha it would be completely unwatchable (for me), but she has been let down by the writers. I'm OK with the suspension of disbelief if you can keep my logical brain engaged elsewhere, but this is not that.
The first episode is the setup for the entire series. If you get through that with a positive impression, I think you will enjoy what follows.
I've watched 3 Episodes so far.
I'm a bit of a Natasha Lyonne fan since Blade: Trinity 2004 then OITNB
Was very pleased to see her in a New Series. Her character puts me in mind of a mix between Columbo, Miss Marple and Kwai Chang Caine (Kung Fu 1972).
I’ve been patient, I’ve watched 6 episodes but each and everyone is more boring than the previous. It’s a shame…. The idea is good but the writing has let it down terribly. 3 /10 at a push.
I found this gem by chance . Natasha isn't my favorite actor and her voice drives me crazy, but the story trellis so compelling and the character so quirky that she fits right in and I am even able to tune out her voice.
If you love her this show is for you, if you don't given it a try anyway and see if the stories can change your mind.
I FREAKIN LOVE HER... this is gritty good damn TV. I love her voice Her cander and I got hooked within minutes of watching her. She grows on you. and every episode has a bad ass dose of Karma. This show is off the hook! Just a take whatever life throws at me kinda girl.. Seeing that she's producer n all.. I Really hope this series goes off the charts... !! Loyal to this show fer sure..
This is awful, she cant act and is annoying, the plots are formulaic and boring, the writing is weak and predictable. And just one more thing.....Columbo did it better.
Rian Johnson has said in multiple interviews that he built the show around Natasha Lyonne because she has a charisma which makes her compulsively watchable. I happen to agree. I love Natasha and I love Charlie. So why did you create a show where the main character is absent for half of each episode?
Quite excellent!
Lyonne is pretty great in almost anything
It recovers the spirit of the mystery series of the seventies and eighties, a procedural in which the excuse for the protagonist to be where she is is as forced as it is finally funny, and which has a cast of guest stars that is especially notable. It's not so much whodunit that matters, but building a puzzle with plot twists that actually hide numerous references to classic movies and detective stories. An entertaining show that invites lovers of weekly serials at a time when massive and fast consumption reigns, bingeing on news without time to enjoy them.
The actors seem competent and the show seems well scripted, but I'm guessing that if you're over 50 there won't be much here to attract you. The hype was that this was like a throwback to detective shows of the 70s. If you think that, you never watched detective shows of the 70s.
Well, I really like the cast, the setting, the visuals, the lightness and the humour.
What’s bugging me is that they always give away what happened first. So you just watch her finding out what you already know. I think it would be a lot better if I could be part of the investigation.
5.5/10 Rating - I would not recommend. I watched the first two episodes, read the description of the middle episodes, and finished with the last two episodes. I lost interest when I realised each episode was going to be in an entirely new place with a wholly new cast and story, except for our lead who has a preternatural ability which helps her solve a murder in each locale. I didn't feel any real growth in character and the fact that we know who committed each crime makes even the mystery aspect of the show lifeless. It's a shame because Lyonne's character is fun and the first episode was promising - I wish Rian Johnson had chosen to make the show all about the. head underworld.
It feels like the TV show equivalent of a short story collection and just was not for me.
i love it,great tv show,waiting season 2
This show started out with such promise but I couldn't even make it through mid season. Great concept, poorly executed.
Am i the only one noticing a colombo vibe here? Even the opening credits font looks similar to me...
I enjoy it so far
typical crime of the week style show, wasn't anything special. Sorry but Lyonne basically plays the same character in all her latest shows.
Some strikes and some hits. Entertaining enough most of the time, but not even close to matching the hype it landed with.
It’s well made, I like that they switch up the format just a little bit each episode so that it doesn’t feel like a formulaic cable tv show. The only thing that’s consistent for each episode is the appearance of Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie. She’s fine, I like the gimmick of her character, but not all of the acting choices work for me, and I can’t shake the feeling that the writing tries way too hard to make her this iconic character (which it doesn’t succeed at). Now, because the show is so episodic, the quality between episodes varies quite a bit. Some episodes capture that Columbo fun perfectly, whereas other episodes are hindered by nonsensical structures, dumb/underwritten/annoying characters, corny dialogue (so many one-liners that are straight up groaners) or just a boring set-up. It’s a good thing that the show is heightened and doesn’t take itself seriously, because it absolutely wouldn’t work as a serious drama. Still, would I recommend it? Probably not, just rewatch Sherlock, it’s a lot more entertaining and not as phony.
Who is this show for? Everything is super well made, Natasha is excellent, and the stories are great. But what's the point of watching Natasha solve a crime when we just got to see how it was done? I don't get it, and it's pretty annoying. No mystery, no sleuthing
Bonus: Hank Pecker reference in ep3
Knowing that Rian Johnson - the man behind Knives Out and Glass Onion - is involved in this and looking at the cast makes me anticipate this sooo much
Don't confuse this great TV show with the dumpster fire of a movie also named "Poker Face". Natasha really is an underrated actress, and if you loved her character Nickles in OITNB, then you will love the sassy black cloud Charlie Cale who seems to always be the eye of the storm for murder and mayhem.
I was expecting this show to have a stronger crime/mystery department. It turns out to be a "hang-out show", not too real, not too fiction. "Just casually watch and relax" type of thing where you just like the characters. So if you're going to ask questions like "how does she always end up in places where crime happens", "how does police always leave clues behind", "blabla can't happen in real life", it's clearly not that type of a show. I don't think it tries to be either. If you want a solid crime show with 100% reality tone, you're in the wrong place.
Here's what the creator told:
"The big ingredient I knew I needed for a show is a charismatic figure at the heart of it, because Columbo or Rockford Files, as much as those shows are mysteries, what really brings you back each week is you want to hang out with the main character. They're really 'hang out' shows," Johnson explained. "When I saw Natasha in Russian Doll, I thought here is somebody who has the presence and the charisma on the screen that I would just want to come back and be with her every week and see her win."
As many others, I love Natasha Lyonne from OITNB and Russian Doll, so it's good watching her in Poker Face as well. Having fun so far, each episode feels like reading a good short-story.
This is a great show and to have the first 1/3 of each episode without the lead appearing is brave and very different……
Your just keep on wanting to see the next episode!
Two draw backs at the moment….
1) do we have to have a murder every episode?
Couldn’t there be a robber, assault, kidnapping, family mystery or something else?????
2) episode 3 left a little sour taste in my mouth, the maga, pc and woke insertion was well and truly chuffed home.
We don’t need this!!!!
No matter how you political or world views lay, this rubbish is going to upset/alienate at least half your audience…..
Natasha Lyonne under a fuckton of unnecessary foundation and a big hair wig from 1986 has supernatural truth telling powers and is doing retro template solving murders in every episode.
It has some moments, especially in the McKee episode, but it is so formulaic it gets old pretty fast.
Edit: So I kept going through the rest of the season one. Um yeah it's not great, but I guess it's sorta ok. Second half is fortunately slightly less of the Columbo gimmick. Lots of references and meta jokes is what keeps it entertaining and surprises in the supporting actors. Especially Clea Duvall facing Natasha Lyonne in the finale was a brilliant blast from the past. I'm very thankful that it sorta wraps up the season despite the mandatory fishing for more. It's a honourable rarity these days.
I will watch everything Rian Johnson makes - everything he does brings something new to the table, giving a twist on genre conventions. Poker Face subverts a mystery of the week show by displaying the murder at the start, and then the challenge is figuring out how to prove the truth. Each episode follows a fairly steady formula, but the setting of each episode is displayed strongly; as an audience, we really feel like we traveled across the country and inhabited quite distinct spaces within it. Tying all episodes together are themes of guilt and honesty. The whole premise of the show is a set up to catch lying criminals, that when they lie she will know and get to the truth. What I found impactful was how being confronted with an outsider pushing the truth over all else led the murderers to doubt themselves. All of them feel a sleight of hand cleverness as they outwit people initially, but then as they are forced to return to their crime they grapple with whether they can really stomach what they've done. I absolutely love the way Rian Johnson sets up a mystery, and one of the great joys of this series is getting to see his creative and thoughtful set ups 10 times. He is fantastic at providing visual information in an organic and efficient way, and his ability to let us understand a character immediately is hilarious. Poker Face isn't the most grounded or groundbreaking show, but it is thrilling and clever. Especially if you appreciate mystery conventions and want to see more Rian Johnson creativity, Poker Face is simply a joy.
One trick pony. Nothing like Columbo. Not sure why people keep comparing this show to it. After all she has ability to tell when people lie. So what’s the point of showing her solve crime if it’s easy for her to figure out if someone is lying. At least columbo had to use his wits and search for clues. Kinda of a stupid premise. I was hoping they killed her off in episode 9 and end the show. One good thing about the show is it’s acting rest of it is just dumb.
What an excellent show. A different story each episode follows our protagonist, Charlie (who is on the run), through her journey across North America, stumbling across a different murder she helps figure out. Excellent, well rounded, cast of big names and an excellent soundtrack to boot.
Just a bit like Columbo (one story/one episode, guest stars, black humor) - I grew up with Peter Falk and love him.... but she is "not a cop"! ;) Whatever N. Lyonne is involved in, it turns to gold: e.g. OITNB or Matryoshka, just to name the latest stuff I've seen/remember. At least now I don't have to think anymore when I read her name in the cast. Good stuff.
Season 1 rated a 7.9
Murder She Wrote for a generation that have never heard of Angela Lansbury
I love the show, but every time I watch it the character of Charlie reminds me of Peter Falk’s Columbo in her mannerisms and speech delivery.
Shout by Roger NeebertBlockedParent2023-01-26T16:47:02Z
bro really don't miss huh