Rian Johnson has been reaching far and wide for talent to join his upcoming mystery drama series Poker Face. Anyone familiar with his work at this point probably isn't all that surprised, but even Johnson's biggest fans have probably been caught off-guard by some of his casting decisions. It looks like that trend may be continuing.
Johnson's Poker Face, which will stream on Peacock, kicked things off almost immediately with the announcement that Russian Doll star Natasha Lyonne would be the first big name to join up. She wasn't the last, however, as others slowly began filling up the show's ranks. Now, that flow of big names has evolved from a drip to a temporary torrent with 3 new actors being announced in 1 day. However, it's an even larger group if one takes into account the rest of the talent who have joined since the show's announcement.
Arguably, the biggest recent wave came when Joseph Gordon-Levitt joined the cast of Poker Face in April, but now a challenger approaches. Law & Order's S. Epatha Merkerson and Tony Award-winning actress Judith Light are among the latest to grace the upcoming series with their presence. They'll be joined by Simon Helberg, best known for playing Howard Wolowitz on The Big Bang Theory. While Johnson has been firmly tight-lipped about plot details for Poker Face, he's been rather famously less so when it comes to casting announcements, and there have been several others even since Gordon-Levitt was confirmed.
Other big names taking part in the upcoming series include Chloë Sevigny, Dascha Polanco, Lil Rel Howery, Adrien Brody, Stephanie Hsu, Benjamin Bratt, David Castañeda, Ellen Barkin, Jameela Jamil, Tim Meadows, and Benjamin Bratt. Even if someone doesn't know every name on that list, odds are that everybody knows at least a few of them, and that's already an impressive feat. Johnson seems to be taking a similar approach to how he's been handling the Knives Out movies, where well-known celebrities are more the rule than the exception, and it seems to have been working well for him so far.
While plot details are scarce, Johnson has described Poker Face as a bit of a deconstruction of the classic "case of the week" type of mystery series. The controversial yet undoubtedly talented director has expressed a love for the beloved Peter Falk detective show Columbo over the years, so it wouldn't be surprising to see a lot of influence along those lines. But this is still Johnson, so audiences can most likely expect a lot of surprises and clever twists that make multiple viewings all but required.
While there's currently no release date set for Poker Face, all of these casting announcements could bode well for the show's production. The more people confirmed to be in it, the more likely it is that filming will probably start soon. Or maybe that's all a bunch of bull honkey and the wait will be agonizing. Either way, this sounds like a show definitely worth waiting for.
Poker Face will premiere on Peacock on a yet-to-be-announced date.