Rian Johnson’s Poker Face starring Natasha Lyonne grew to become an instantaneous hit when it premiered for Peacock subscription holders again in 2023, and now the long-awaited second season of the refreshing “howcatchem” homicide thriller is lastly upon us. Critics have been in a position to display the brand new episodes earlier than they hit the 2025 TV schedule, so are we in for extra enjoyable instances seeing Charlie Cale actually name out folks’s “Bullshit,” or is the murder-magnet premise getting stale?
Simply as Season 1 featured loads of recognizable faces for Charlie to come across as she solved her case of the week, Poker Face Season 2 has tapped some A+ visitor stars, together with Giancarlo Esposito, Katie Holmes and Cynthia Erivo, who was in a position to squeeze in her look whereas doing press for Depraved. So, how does the sophomore season stay as much as the primary? Alison Herman of Selection says it evolves by toying with the present’s baseline. Herman writes:
Poker Face is inherently versatile; there are nearly no constants past the flash-forward construction, a suspicious demise and Charlie herself. For all of the present admires and emulates traditional community collection, it eschews units and backlots for lived-in places in a flex of streaming-era funding. With Season 2, Poker Face takes rising benefit of that clean slate whereas sustaining the soothing repetition of a consolation watch. It’s fairly the cardboard trick.
Gavia Baker-Whitelaw of TV Information says the inventive workforce behind Poker Face has settled right into a dependable groove, giving us extra of what we liked from Season 1 with larger-than-life visitor stars and cartoonish criminals. Followers can relaxation assured, it’s nonetheless the most effective homicide mysteries on TV, the critic says, writing:
When you loved Season 1, you may know what to anticipate — and you will undoubtedly take pleasure in what you get this season. The present’s chief precedence is to have enjoyable, a top quality that comes by way of within the persona of its lead character, the scenery-chewing performances of its visitor forged, and the formidable ridiculousness of its writing. In the case of case-of-the-week storytelling, this workforce is on the prime of their sport, providing one thing extra enriching than typical crime procedurals, with no scarcity of creativeness and coronary heart.
Belen Edwards of Mashable, nonetheless, factors out that even with a set method, the showrunners are always altering issues up and discovering new methods to play inside these constraints, making certain that Poker Face stays one of the vital enjoyable reveals on TV. Rewards says:
In Season 2, Charlie is not all the time attempting to get justice for a homicide sufferer as she did in Season 1. A number of installments truly see her attempting to show somebody’s innocence. Usually, the events she’s attempting to guard are sudden: an alligator, a baby, even a pitching machine! This motley assortment is proof of Poker Face’s fixed inventiveness. Even a change to greater metropolis settings within the latter half of the season presents an thrilling problem.
David Opie of Empire offers the second season 4 out of 5 stars, writing that if the present stays this constantly spectacular, it may simply go for 10 extra seasons. Natasha Lyonne has created a deadpan masterpiece together with her laid-back Charlie Cale. Nonetheless, Opie continues:
The workforce behind Season 2 aren’t so laid-back, refusing to relaxation on their laurels regardless of some much-deserved Emmy success final time spherical. A baseball-themed episode pitches solely left-field with its visuals, for instance, whereas a twist in Episode 3 redefines Cale’s complete journey. The case-of-the-week format stays in place, principally unchanged, however the serialised story that holds it collectively turns into extra introspective and even existential, proving that the workforce’s ambition is not simply restricted to casting TV’s most enviable visitor listing.
Ben Travers of IndieWire praises Natasha Lyonne for bringing us extra of her pleasing Charlie Cale. The critic grades the season a B, noting that two tweaks to Poker Face’s format assist to differentiate this batch of episodes from its authentic run. Travers continues:
Whereas most of these aren’t as satisfying as the primary, Charlie all the time is: Beneficiant and shiny, just like the lengthy curly locks spilling out from below her varied trucker hats, Charlie is an unnatural charmer, her large smile and gravelly intonation a congenial contradiction that convincingly cultivates curiosity in wherever they’re aimed.
It appears like critics agree that Poker Face Season 2 offers us extra of what we liked the primary time round, whereas nonetheless updating its method sufficient to distinguish it from its rookie run. The primary three episodes can be found to stream on Peacock now, with one new episode dropping each Thursday by way of its 12-episode order.