Actress Natasha Lyonne (“Orange Is The New Black“) is looking to dominate the streaming space. The second season of “Russian Doll” is arriving soon on Netflix, and Lyonne is attached to lead a new Peacock series, “Poker Face,” developed by Rian Johnson (“Looper“) on the heels of completing production on his “Knives Out” sequel. Now, a longtime collaborator of Johnson’s has joined Lyonne in “Poker Face.”
Variety reports that Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“Inception“) has nabbed an unnamed role in the show, marking the first new casting addition since the project was first announced over a year ago.
The murder mystery drama will follow a traditional procedural format and has Lyonne’s sleuth character working to solve different murders in each episode. “Poker Face” is expected to be similar to iconic shows like “Murder She Wrote” or “Columbo.” We haven’t learned what the hook will be to separate it from the pack, but an assumption could be made that the show will have a more humorous angle given Lyonne’s history with comedic characters/projects.
Gordon-Levitt and Johnson have previously worked together on “Brick,” “Looper,” and the actor had a brief cameo voicing an alien in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”
Johnson was most recently shooting his whodunnit “Knives Out 2” in Greece with Daniel Craig leading the stellar cast that includes Edward Norton (“Fight Club,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Moonrise Kingdom“), Janelle Monae (“Moonlight,” “Hidden Figures“), Kathryn Hahn (“WandaVision“), Jessica Henwick (“The Matrix 4,” “Iron Fist” ), Kate Hudson (“Almost Famous“), Madelyn Cline, Ethan Hawke (“Moon Knight“), and Leslie Odom Jr. (“Murder On The Orient Express,” “One Night In Miami“). A third installment is also expected at some point as part of a massive deal with Netflix.
Seeing other folks who previously worked with the director such as Johnson’s good luck charm Noah Segan join “Poker Face” wouldn’t be a surprise.