Stephen King may be best known for his contributions to the horror genre, but he’s pretty damn talented when it comes to spinning a mystery. His Bill Hodges Trilogy (Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers and End Of Watch) is terrific serialized detective fiction, and other excellent contributions to the craft include books like 2001’s Black House and 2013’s Joyland. The man clearly has an appreciation for whodunits and howdunits, which is why it’s no surprise that he is now hooked on Peacock’s critically-acclaimed Poker Face, and his praise has not gone unnoticed by the show’s creator and star.
This weekend, in the wake of Poker Face‘s fifth episode becoming available to stream, Stephen King let the world know that he is a fan with a message posted to his personal Twitter page. In addition to calling the series “pure entertainment gold,” he comments that Natasha Lyonne “shines” in the lead role – and Rian Johnson responded by turning the word use into a reference to one of King’s most beloved books: The Shining. Check out his post below:
Take it from a man who knows shining! Thank you @StephenKing!! ♥️♥️🙏🏻 https://t.co/oWEngdl0BbFebruary 5, 2023
The complement didn’t escape Natasha Lyonne’s attention either. Instead of going to Quote Retweet route, she simply replied to Stephen King’s post, and based on her GIF choice, it seems like the author complementing her work has effectively blown her mind:
Holy smokes! Thank you @StephenKing!!! cc: @rianjohnson ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥😎 pic.twitter.com/W8DXecsL6OFebruary 5, 2023
If you’ve just been waiting for just one more reason to start watching Poker Face, let it be this enthusiastic thumbs up from one of the greatest fiction writers of all time and the reciprocated love sent back to him on social media.
On Poker Face, Natasha Lyonne stars as Charlie Cale, an unusual woman with a brilliant gift: she instantly knows when somebody is lying to her. In the aftermath of the amazing pilot episode, she finds herself on the run and moving all around the country, and she proves to have an unfortunate knack for getting in the middle of murder schemes during her travels. With her special talent, she unravels what’s really going on, and finds her own way to propagate justice.
While there is a serial arc playing in the background, Poker Face is primarily episodic in its storytelling structure, and a number of amazing actors have already made appearances, including Adrien Brody, Benjamin Bratt, Hong Chau, John Ratzenberger, Lil Rel Howery, Chloë Sevigny, Judith Light and S. Epatha Merkerson.
If you’re a fan of Knives Out and Glass Onion, it’s definitely a must-watch, as Rian Johnson’s mystery sensibilities are deep in the DNA of both (like those movies, Poker Face is able to both provide big thrills and big laughs). All you need to get onboard is to sign up for a Peacock subscription.
At present, Poker Face is right square in the middle of its first season, as five episodes are available to watch, and five more are set to be released in the weeks ahead. You can check out new ones on Thursdays, and when you’re not watching/rewatching, you can scope out other awesome Peacock exclusive shows.
