‘Poker Face’ Is Canceled As Rian Johnson Plans a Recast

Bad news for Poker Face heads. Well, something like that. Peacock officially cancels Rian Johnson concert ColomboThe guest star's bonanza after two seasons left Charlie Kale, Natasha Lyonne's human bullshit detector, on the run and out of a job. But this may not be the end of the road for the shoe. Diversity reports that Johnson and his producers were in town looking for a new distributor. Turn? Lyonne left and Peter Dinklage became the new Charlie Cale. Wait, there's more: It looks like the bigger plan is to change the lead actor every two seasons.

Honestly, I'm interested in this. Because in these dark times we are need new institutions that can last for a long time, on television and elsewhere, and this could be an opportunity to do just that. Dinklage makes a funny first pass, earlier this year he hit the tires of a leather jacket and attitude in a stunning cameo on Detailswhere he played Lee's old buddy Raybon, played by Ethan Hawke, who storms into town, kicks ass, and handles the whole investigation better than Lee.

However, the format raises questions. Should there be a switch? Doctor Whoa style revival, with Charlie Cale's internal reason for being “reborn” every two seasons? (I think not.) Is it more like James Bond, where you just reset the show's terms every cycle? Or should the show avoid calling attention to change entirely: same character, same story, new actor, no big deal?

However Poker Face decides to deal with things if they are picked up, some continuity must be maintained, preferably in a way that specifically references Lyonne's character origin. Perhaps every Charlie Cale should have Lyonna's voluminous, curly red hair. (Give Dinklage a wig!) Or maybe they should inherit her husky New York accent. (Let Dinklage go full New Yawk!) Just go crazy for it. It's a shame that Lyonne won't be back if Poker Face continues, although she has something to do now – she does have an artificial intelligence company to runafter everything.