What a concept: Natasha Lyonne to star in Rian Johnson’s mystery series at Peacock

By Saloni Gajjar | March 16, 2021 | 7:35pm

TV Features Unknown

What a concept: Natasha Lyonne to star in Rian Johnson’s mystery series at Peacock

Rian Johnson; Natasha Lyonne Photo: Rich Polk/Stringer; Jemal Countess/Stringer

Peacock is going all in on the dream team of Rian Johnson and Natasha Lyonne. In a press release, the NBCUniversal streaming platform announced it’s given a straight-to-series, 10-episode order to Poker Face, which is the first-ever TV series developed by Johnson. Lyonne will headline the show, solving crimes in the new hour-long mystery drama. The Orange Is The New Black alum co-created and stars in Netflix’s time-loop dramedy Russian Doll, which began production recently on its second season. Lyonne was also co-starred in the Golden Globes- and Oscar-nominated United States Vs. Billie Holiday.

Johnson describes Poker Face as “the type of fun, character driven, case-of-the-week mystery goodness” he grew up watching. This tracks, as Johnson pulled triple duty as writer, producer, and director for 2019’s acclaimed whodunit Knives Out. He also directed Star Wars: The Last Jedi and some popular episodes of Breaking Bad, including “Ozymandias.” Johnson will serve as the creator, writer, and director of Poker Face, executive producing along with his T-Street partner Ram Bergman. Lyonne and Maya Rudolph’s production company Animal Pictures is also co-producing the Peacock series.