A cut above the best, the Peacock murder mystery series “Poker Face” scratches all my old-school “Columbo” itches — and does it without putting a police detective at the center. Natasha Lyonne stars as a cocktail waitress on the run from a casino boss. She’s driving cross country with no real destination in mind, stumbling upon crimes at every pitstop.
Talkative and droll, she can clock a bluff. A useful skill until heavies in the gambling world catch on. But once she’s on the lam, those qualities plus a moral compass make her a lively detective-stand in.
She’s nosey enough, and curious enough, to unravel these various crimes without even meaning to. She’s just asking questions, see? Because the party line doesn’t make sense. The lies are everywhere. She’d much rather lay low, take the occasional short-term job and keep her head down. But there’s a dead body. And suspicious circumstances. She can’t help herself. So there she is, sussing things out with an offbeat quizzicalness that’s not unlike her aforementioned spiritual predecessor. Both embody the antithesis of glossy or sleek, but instead of a cigar and rumpled raincoat, her defining look is ‘80s hairband chic: Fried locks, cowboy boots and a pair of skinny jeans.
