Rian Johnson’s ‘Poker Face’ Shares a Special Connection to the ‘Knives Out’ Universe

Premiering on Jan. 26 on Peacock, Rian Johnson’s Poker Face delves into yet another intricate, crime-ridden world.

Best known in recent years for writing and directing Knives Out and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Johnson’s crime stories are unparalleled.

In his new mystery-of-the-week series starring Natasha Lyonne as gifted casino employee Charlie Cale, Poker Face possesses a surprising connection to the Knives Out cinematic universe.

Poker Face shares a special connection to Johnson’s past projects.

In a recent interview with Variety, the creator revealed the secret relationship between his upcoming murder mystery and the elaborate world of Knives Out.

At the beginning of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, world-class detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) finds himself in a funk during the Covid-19 lockdown.

During the scene, the Southern detective is taking a bubble bath and playing the party game “Among Us” with his friends.

Suddenly, the game ends with Blanc caught as the imposter, and the camera pans to a Zoom call featuring none other than Stephen Sondheim, Angela Lansbury, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and of course, Natasha Lyonne.

While the four-way celebrity cameo appears rather ordinary, here’s the twist:

“You ready for a real kind of reality twist? So in the cameo in ‘Glass Onion,’ [Natasha Lyonne is] playing herself — but she’s in hair and makeup as Charlie in her trailer in between setups on the set on the set of ‘Poker Face,'” Johnson said.

“So in the world of ‘Glass Onion,’ ‘Poker Face’ is a show that his friend Natasha is shooting. It’s a twisted web that we weave.”

Paying homage to the 1970s crime drama series Columbo, Poker Face is a riveting howdunit tale.

Per Peacock’s official series synopsis, “Poker Face is a 10-episode mystery-of-the-week series following Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie, who has an extraordinary ability to determine when someone is lying. She hits the road with her Plymouth Barracuda and with every stop encounters a new cast of characters and strange crimes she can’t help but solve.”

Guest stars in Poker Face will be plentiful (there are more than 30!) and include appearances by Adrien Brody, Chloë Sevigny, Clea DuVall, Dascha Polanco, Hong Chau, Megan Suri, Jameela Jamil, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Stephanie Hsu, and more.

The first four episodes of Poker Face will be available for streaming on Thursday, Jan. 26 on Peacock. The following six episodes will be released every week following the series premiere.