Here’s a TV shocker: “Poker Face,” Peacock‘s most-watched series, won’t return for a third season. But that doesn’t mean the show is over entirely, as Rian Johnson wants another broadcaster to pick it up for two more seasons, and a new star at the helm.
Deadline reports that Johnson and T-Street partner Ram Bergman will shop “Poker Face” around for a new home, with Peter Dinklage taking over the show’s main role of Charlie Cale from Natasha Lyonne. How on earth does that work? Maybe with the same central premise, a sleuth with an unparalleled ability to detect liars, in a new universe. Johnson’s long-term plans for the series would be that the show effectively reboots itself every two years, with a new actor as the lead character. But would anyone besides Peacock sign on for that? We’ll soon find out.
Here’s a joint statement from Johnson and Lyonne of the recent “Poker Face” developments: “We’ve been germinating this next move together since writing the season two finale. We love our “Poker Face,” and this is the perfect way to keep it rolling. Give us a beat and we may just see Charlie Cale again down that open highway.”
Other aspects of “Poker Face” remain uncertain, with its future still unclear. Will Tony Tost return as showrunner? No clue. Johnson confirmed he will write and direct the series as much as he’s able to, but Lyonne will remain on it only as an EP. The actress starred in both seasons as Charlie Cale, a former casino employee with an uncanny knack for calling out lies, traveling across the US and stumbling upon crimes that need solving. Both seasons were critical hits for Peacock, but ratings dropped for S2, which may have provoked the streamer to nix further seasons.
Will another network take the bait and give “Poker Face” a new life? If one does, it’ll be Dinklage’s latest TV role after a memorable recent turn on “Dexter: Resurrection.” Of course, “Game Of Thrones” will remain the actor’s most prominent TV role to date. Other recent work for Dinklage includes “Wicked,” “Roofman,” and the upcoming “Lear Rex.”
As for Johnson, his latest “Knives Out” mystery, “Wake Up Dead Man,” arrives on Netflix next month. That’s another RJ franchise whose future is in limbo. Netflix inked a lucrative deal with Johnson for two sequels to the 2019 sleuther starring Daniel Craig, but now that’s over, with Johnson looking around for a new backer. It’s far more likely he’ll find one for the “Knives Out” series than “Poker Face,” but maybe both will happen.
