Charlie Cale has been on the run since the first episode of Poker Face, from a shady casino boss who wanted her dead. As season 2 kicks off on M-Net (DStv Channel 101) on Friday 4 July at 20:00, Charlie is on the run from another shady casino boss – except this one wants to keep her alive and exploit her lie-detecting powers.
"Rusty clarinet-voiced" Natasha Lyonne (Orange is the New Black, Russian Doll) returns as the lead in the multi-Emmy, Critics Choice Awards, Golden Globes, and Writers’ Guild of America-nominated-and-winning series and still finds herself criss-crossing the United States, stumbling upon murders and various types of skullduggery and calling “Bullsh*t!” as she spots the perpetrators’ lies with unerring ease.
The new season picks up a few months after the season one finale, where mob enforcer and Charlie-hunter Cliff (Benjamin Bratt) testified against corrupt casino owner Beatrix Hasp (Rhea Perlman). Having refused Hasp’s “offer” of working for her, Charlie is now on the run from a pair of assassins. Empire sums it up nicely: “This procedural ‘howdunnit’ traverses the oddest corners of everyday Americana, with new mysteries set everywhere from Minor League baseball to creepy funeral homes and even a local police award ceremony, each functioning as its own mini world with a unique style and tone.”
One of the great hallmarks of the show is its stellar lineup of guest stars – and season two continues in the same vein with some unlikely suspects turning up in strange places and giving the kind of performance any other show wouldn’t dare let them. Watch out for everyone from Ellen Barkin and Adrien Brody to Luis Guzmán and Chloë Sevigny. Never mind Katie Holmes, Awkwafina, John Mulaney, Melanie Lynskey, Steve Buscemi, Alia Shawkat, and Cynthia Erivo, who plays five sisters on her own!
Rotten Tomatoes’ Critics’ Consensus of the second season is that “Instead of reshuffling its winning formula, Poker Face's second season doubles down on the winning virtues of its predecessor and scores a jackpot.” The Guardian said the show is “painfully close to being a classic.”
Season 2 of Poker Face premieres on M-Net (DStv Channel 101) on Friday 4 July at 20:00.
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