For Natasha Lyonne, humor is essential for any detective mystery. “I do love that sense of television where it’s a very light touch. It’s a little bit, hey, come hang out again,” Lyonne told Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott on the latest Parting Shot. She teamed up with Knives Out creator Rian Johnson to make Poker Face (Peacock, January 26). Lyonne plays Charlie Cale, who has the gift to decipher when people are lying, as she encounters crimes from quirky characters. “While she does have this undeniable gift, she’s definitely not a superhero or a magician.” Still, Charlie isn’t your typical detective. She’s “much closer to Jeff Bridges in Big Lebowski. She’s the dude. She’s really got this attitude of how did this crime fall into my apartment? I’m just sort of hanging out.” But the most important thing is to connect with the character, and that’s where the humor comes in. “In a detective show, it’s almost a way of saying that despite the impossible circumstances, [you] know that your rock in this series still has their wits about them and almost suspending disbelief that they’ll be able to get out of the twisted [case] they find themselves in.” 

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