After a breakout first season, Poker Face returns to Sky and streaming service NOW on May 9 with a fresh set of episodes and an even bigger list of guest stars. The hit series, created by Rian Johnson and led by Natasha Lyonne, opens its second chapter with three episodes dropping at once, followed by weekly installments. Comprising twelve hour-long episodes, the new season continues its case-of-the-week structure while expanding Charlie Cale’s strange, sprawling journey across the American highway.
Natasha Lyonne reprises her role as Charlie, a woman with an uncanny ability to tell when someone is lying. Her gift once again draws her into a series of bizarre encounters as she travels in her iconic Plymouth Barracuda. In each town, Charlie finds herself wrapped up in local mysteries, unable to walk away from the truth – even if it puts her in danger. From discount warehouses to backwoods reptile farms, the season plays out across distinctly American environments, each serving as a new setting for a new crime.
Rian Johnson and Natasha Lyonne, both executive producers and directors this season, described their influences as rooted in 1970s cinema and classic American television. In a joint statement, they said, “Charlie Cale is back on the run, and in Season 2 we’ve taken her journey to the next level one murder mystery at a time.” They cite directors like Altman and Bogdanovich as visual touchpoints, while referencing episodic TV classics such as Columbo and The Rockford Files as the framework for the show’s storytelling. “Each episode is a mini movie,” they added.
Season two of Poker Face features an expansive guest list, with appearances from Cynthia Erivo, Kumail Nanjiani, Method Man, Awkwafina, Melanie Lynskey, John Mulaney, and Katie Holmes, among others. Every guest brings a unique energy to the screen, stepping into self-contained episodes that operate like standalone stories. These guest performances build on the show’s established structure, where Charlie’s lie-detection ability places her squarely in the middle of each strange situation.
The first season received critical acclaim and four Primetime Emmy nominations. Natasha Lyonne earned a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, while Judith Light took home an Emmy for her guest appearance. The show’s unique hybrid of comedy, mystery, and Americana gained a dedicated following, and the second season promises to deepen that dynamic.
Poker Face is produced by T-Street, MRC Television, and Animal Pictures, and distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution. Tony Tost joins as showrunner and executive producer, alongside Ram Bergman, Nena Rodrigue, Adam Arkin, Nora Zuckerman, and Lilla Zuckerman. As Lyonne’s Charlie continues to crisscross the country, the series leans further into its format of genre-bending episodic storytelling with each stop bringing new faces, new crimes, and more lies to uncover.
The impressive guest star list includes: Adrienne C. Moore (Orange is the New Black, Juror #2), Alia Shawkat (Blink Twice, Search Party), Awkwafina (The Farewell, Crazy Rich Asians), Ben Marshall (Saturday Night Live, Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain), B.J. Novak (The Office, Vengeance), Carol Kane (Between the Temples, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Cliff “Method Man” Smith (Power Book II: Ghost, The Deuce), Corey Hawkins (Straight Outta Compton, The Piano Lesson), Cynthia Erivo (Wicked, Harriet), David Alan Grier (St. Denis Medical, In Living Color), David Krumholtz (Oppenheimer, Numb3rs), Davionte “GaTa” Ganter (Dave, Anyone But You, Rick and Morty), Ego Nwodim (Mr. Throwback, Saturday Night Live), Gaby Hoffmann (Transparent, Eric), Geraldine Viswanathan (Thunderbolts*, You’re Cordially Invited, Drive-Away Dolls), Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul, Parish), Haley Joel Osment (Blink Twice, Wednesday), Jason Ritter (Matlock), John Cho (Searching, Star Trek), John Mulaney (John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA), Justin Theroux (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, White House Plumbers), Kathrine Narducci (Euphoria, Alto Knights), Katie Holmes (Our Town, Ray Donovan, Rare Objects), Kevin Corrigan (Narcos: Mexico, Godfather of Harlem), Kumail Nanjiani (Welcome to Chippendales, Only Murders in the Building), Lauren Tom (Interior Chinatown, Futurama), Lili Taylor (Outer Range, American Crime, The Conjuring), Margo Martindale (The Americans, The Sticky), Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets, Togetherness), Natasha Leggero (Another Period, Old Dads), Patti Harrison (I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, Together Together), Rhea Perlman (Cheers, Matilda), Richard Kind (Only Murders In The Building, Curb Your Enthusiasm), Sam Richardson (Ted Lasso, Veep), Sherry Cola (Nobody Wants This, Joy Ride), Simon Helberg (Annette, The Big Bang Theory), Simon Rex (Red Rocket, Blink Twice), and Taylor Schilling (Dear Edward, Orange is the New Black).
