#Natasha Lyonne Takes the Lead in Rian Johnson’s Peacock Mystery Series Poker Face

Peacock has landed the rights to Poker Face, a mystery drama series from Rian Johnson and MRC Television starring Russian Doll actress Natasha Lyonne. Johnson, whose 2019 movie Knives Out earned the filmmaker a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination, is the creator, writer, and director of Poker Face. The project marks the first TV series for Johnson, whose previous work has consistently been in movies.

Johnson will also serve as an executive producer with his partner Ram Bergman for T-Street banner and the company’s TV president Nena Rodrigue. Also executive producing are Natasha Lyonne for Animal Pictures with the company’s Maya Rudolph and Danielle Renfrew Behrens co-executive producing.

“Rian Johnson’s distinct sensibility and talent for telling edge-of-your-seat mysteries is a massive gift for Peacock, and we can’t wait for audiences to delve into each case,” Lisa Katz, President, Scripted Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, said in a statement. “Paired with the acting genius of Natasha Lyonne, this series will be entertaining and addictive.”

“Rian is a gifted writer and director who draws you in with his unique approach to mystery and we’re so proud to partner with him, and Ram, and to have Natasha Lyonne as our lead, and land this phenomenal show at Peacock with a talented team,” MRC Television President Elise Henderson also said.

For his part, Rian Johnson added: “I’m very excited to dig into the type of fun, character driven, case-of-the-week mystery goodness I grew up watching. It’s my happy place. Having Natasha as a partner in crime is a dream, and we’ve found the perfect home at Peacock.”

Knives Out earned Johnson critical acclaim along with an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. It was also up for Best Motion Picture at the Golden Globes. Because of the success of the movie, a sequel was announced last year with Johnson confirming that he’d begun writing the script. Daniel Craig is also expected to return in a lead role. It’s not yet clear when filming on this project will happen before or after Poker Face.

Johnson’s other credits include The Brothers Bloom, Looper, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Last month, Johnson also said his planned Star Wars trilogy is still on, suggesting he’ll be making more movies in that franchise at some point in the future. Given how much is going on with Johnson at the moment, it doesn’t seem his Star Wars movies are going to happen anytime soon.

Meanwhile, though she’s known for her roles in titles like American Pie and Orange Is the New Black, Lyonne has found great success moving behind the camera. She serves as a co-creator, writer, director, and executive producer in addition to starring in the hit Netflix series Russian Doll. Lyonne earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her work on the show and is currently working on an upcoming second season. The filmmaker also directed and executive produced Sarah Cooper: Everything’s Fine and has a role in the Lee Daniels movie United States vs Billie Holiday.

This news was first reported by Deadline.

Topics: Poker Face