New Show From Rian Johnson ‘Poker Face’ Isn’t A Whodunit, It’s A Howdunit

Rian Johnson, the author director behind a profitable movie franchise is fast to explain his new tv collection utilizing an attention-grabbing moniker.

“As opposed Glass Onion and Knives Out, these aren’t ‘whodunits,’ these are ‘howcatchems,’” he says succinctly.

He’s speaking about Poker Face, which stars Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a lady on the run who has a rare capability to find out when somebody is mendacity. In every episode, she encounters a brand new forged of characters and unusual crimes she will be able to’t assist however resolve.

Johnson provides, “These [episodes] are modeled in that method after Columbo, the place you present the killing after which it is about Natasha versus the visitor star and the way they will take them down.”

Visitor actors who go toe-to-toe with Lyonne’s Cale, embody Nick Nolte, Cherry Jones, Luis Guzman, Adrien Brody, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, amongst others.

What obtained him excited concerning the taking up the case-of-the-week present , says Johnson, was “the sort of stuff I used to look at consistently after I was sitting in entrance of the TV as a child. So sure, Columbo, however [also] Magnum P.I., The Rockford Information, [and] Quantum Leap. All these exhibits the place I used to be simply watching day by day reruns.”

Casting was key for the narrative, for a vital cause, says Johnson. “The massive ingredient I knew I wanted for a present like what I simply described is a charismatic determine on the coronary heart of it, as a result of [like] Columbo or Rockford Information, as a lot as these exhibits are mysteries, what actually brings you again every week is you need to hang around with the principle character. They’re actually ‘hang around’ exhibits.”

When he noticed Natasha in Russian Doll, he knew she was the one. “I assumed, ‘right here is anyone who has the presence and the charisma on the display that I’d simply need to come again and be together with her each week and see her win.’”

Lyonne says that what she discovered so attention-grabbing concerning the character is, “I really like that exact sort of a lone wolf, who’s anyone who is admittedly, kind of floating above a scenario, making an attempt to crack a riddle of some type, but in addition very a lot an everyman who’s obtained their nostril to the grindstone.”

She provides, “And I really like [using] noir machine generally. The concept of those small pockets and eccentric figures, you want that sort of Philip Marlowe lone wolf who additionally is admittedly in communication with the witness or the clue.”

With regard to the aforementioned Colombo DNA of Poker Face, Lyonne admits, “I’ve a terrific love of [series star] Peter Falk, I’ve at all times gravitated to him, however the different man I really like a lot is [the character] Sipowicz [from NYPD Blue].I really like Sipowicz [and] Dennis Franz [who played him]. I’d like to go on Discovering Your Roots and uncover that Peter Falk was some kind of deep, distant relation.”

Johnson had beforehand dipped his toe into the world of tv, having directed episodes of Terriers and Breaking Dangerous, however he says it’s very totally different while you’re the one creating the collection. “I actually dove into it prefer it was certainly one of my motion pictures. I actually jumped utterly into the deep finish of the pool.”

One side of tv that provides Johnson a thrill is the tempo. “I liked that, with every episode, we’re in a special atmosphere. It is a complete new forged. It is like making 10 little motion pictures. Each three weeks, we had been beginning work on a brand new film, whereas often I am used to doing the identical one for a number of years.”

How the medium is written delighted Johnson as properly. “When it comes to my very own options, the place I simply sit in a room and eat horribly and really feel consistently confused that I am method behind on my deadline, that is way more enjoyable — being in a room with a gaggle of individuals. I nonetheless felt like I used to be driving the tales and actually shaping them, however having a employees of extremely gifted folks there to carry their voices to it, I actually liked it.”

The writing employees was an eclectic combine of people that’ve labored on totally different exhibits, says Johnson, together with some who had expertise in crafting crime tales, as a result of, “on the finish of the day, this has very a lot the DNA of a procedural.”

Whereas Johnson says that intention for the collection was that every one episodes are standalone, he says that there’s a little bit of ‘connective tissue’ all through.

“On the finish of the season, we come again a bit to what occurs within the pilot. However the intention with the present is that you will get a complete meal in every episode. “

Persevering with the meals metaphor, he provides that there’s, “a smorgasbord of potentialities of various worlds we are able to dip into in every episode, and entire new mysteries in each single one.”

‘Poker Face’ premieres Thursday, January 26^th on Peacock with 4 episodes at launch. New episodes stream each Thursday thereafter.