Poker Face Is Peacock's All-Time Highest-Ranked Original Series, And You Should Be Watching

Who doesn't love a good mystery? It turns out that most folks do, as "Poker Face," the new murder mystery series from writer and director Rian Johnson, is now officially Peacock's highest-ranked original series according to Nielsen's Streaming Original Series Top 10 chart. The series stars Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a Las Vegas cocktail waitress who can tell whether or not someone's lying through a sort of sixth sense. Her eye twitches a bit and she winces whenever someone lies, but she also doesn't know why they're lying and tends to want to mind her own business, making her an accidental detective instead of a professional one. It's a fun format that feels like a contemporary take on "Murder, She Wrote" by way of "Columbo." Unlike Johnson's "Knives Out" and "Glass Onion," the series isn't a whodunnit, because the audience sees some of the murder before Charlie shows up in each episode, and the focus is more on how Charlie figures out the mystery than the mystery itself. 

The series, which features a slew of incredible guest actors and guest directors, opened at number 3 on Nielsen's chart, making it Peacock's highest-ranked original series ever. The metrics they base streaming success on are all a little confusing, but what isn't confusing is that "Poker Face" is freaking great, and even more people should be tuning in. 

Most television these days is heavily serialized, with some seasons of TV shows feeling more like 10-hour-long movies than they do seasons with individual episodes. That works great for some series, but sometimes I also really miss the days of being able to tune in to a random episode and enjoy it without having to watch everything that came before. Some sitcoms manage to do this still, and "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" also has the good taste to wrap up its stories before the credits roll. But many shows (and cinematic universes) require faithful viewing, and sometimes audiences just want to escape into a good story for a little while. 

Each episode of "Poker Face" is its own little mystery with a lovable hero and a brilliant cast of guest stars. Seriously, this cast is stacked, with appearances from Stephanie Hsu, Lil Rel Howery, Luis Guzmán, Chloë Sevigny, Clea DuVall, Ron Perlman, Tim Blake Nelson, Tim Meadows, Nick Nolte, and more. There are some incredibly talented folks helping behind the camera, too, with horror great Lucky McKee taking on directing duties in episode 5 and Lyonne herself helming episode 8. The end result is a well-made comedy mystery series that's equal parts exciting and funny, with the kind of storytelling that could sustain season after season of episodic adventure. Tune in on Peacock and see why so many folks are watching and loving "Poker Face."