Debapriya Bhattacharya
‘Poker Face’ chronicles the adventures of Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne), a woman gifted with the uncanny ability to detect whether a person is being truthful. Following a suspicious death in a casino, Charlie travels across the country in her Plymouth Barracuda, leading a life on the run. However, crime seems to follow her trail, as she encounters intriguing characters and strange homicides at every stop, which she can’t help but solve. Created by Rian Johnson for Peacock, the series follows a “howcatchem” trope, where the crime and perpetrator are revealed at the beginning of the episode, and the rest of the runtime explores how Charlie connects the dots of the case. If the crime comedy drama has you craving more, here are some shows similar to ‘Poker Face’ that you may consider catching up on.
10. Murderville (2022)
Based on the UK series ‘Murder in Successville’ by Andy Brereton, Krister Johnson’s ‘Murderville’ is set in a fictional town of the same name. Senior detective Terry Seattle (Will Arnett) solves a scripted homicide with a celebrity guest starring as a rookie detective in each episode. However, the script is not provided to the guest, who has to improvise throughout the investigation and attempt to solve the crime. In the end, the Chief of Police and Terry’s ex-wife, Rhonda Jenkins-Seattle (Haneefah Wood), shows up, hears the rookie’s explanation of the crime, and fires them if they are wrong. The series does not take itself too seriously and offers a fun approach to solving interesting cases, striking a similar tone to ‘Poker Face.’
9. Bored to Death (2009-2011)
In writer Jonathan Ames’ creation, ‘Bored to Death,’ Jason Schwartzman plays a young fictional version of the writer who decides to live out his fantasy of moonlighting as a private detective. A big fan of mystery novels, he starts working cases in Brooklyn using the limited skill set he has acquired by consuming fiction. The reel-Jonathan soon finds he has bitten off more than he can chew, as his personal life keeps getting in the way of his work. Meanwhile, his old boss, magazine editor George Christopher (Ted Danson), makes it increasingly difficult for him to prioritise his new gig. Like Charlie in ‘Poker Face,’ Jonathan solves crimes more as a passion rather than a profession.
8. The Sinner (2017-2021)
Derek Simonds developed ‘The Sinner’ based on the eponymous novel by Petra Hammesfahr. The series stars Bill Pullman as Harry Ambrose, a police detective who investigates one homicide every season. Dedicated to his craft and employing his own unique methods, he forms intimate bonds with the suspects and tries to uncover the “why” behind the crime as much as the “how.” Harry’s process of getting the truth from the suspects brings to mind Charlie’s lie-detecting abilities in ‘Poker Face.’
7. The Afterparty (2022-2023)
Created by Christopher Miller, ‘The Afterparty’ tells the story of a high school reunion where a murder turns all the attendees into potential suspects. Author and private detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) grills the former classmates one by one. The episode culminates in the uncovering of the person responsible and the stunning reason why they did it. Like Charlie in ‘Poker Face’, Detective Danner in ‘The Afterparty’ is an unconventional sleuth who approaches each case with a unique perspective.
6. Veronica Mars (2004-2019)
Starring Kristen Bell as the titular character, ‘Veronica Mars’ by Rob Thomas begins with her making her way out of high school in the fictional city of Neptune, California. Following the murder of her best friend, Lilly Kane (Amanda Seyfried), and the dismissal of her father (Enrico Colantoni) as the county sheriff, Veronica decides on her new way of life. She joins her father in being a private investigator, digging into the lives of the rich and famous in the city as the cases demand. While she doesn’t cover as much ground as Charlie, Veronica’s determination to find out the culprit in homicides is comparable to that of the detective from ‘Poker Face.’
5. Castle (2009-2016)
From the mind of Andrew W. Marlowe, ‘Castle’ follows the adventures of best-selling crime fiction writer Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion), who decides to model his next heroine, Nicki Heat, on NYPD Detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic). As such, he uses his connection to the mayor to obtain permission to shadow her at work. While Kate is furious at first, she soon gets used to working with him and the pair forms a special connection. Much like Charlie’s cases in ‘Poker Face,’ the homicides presented to Castle and the NYPD are varied in all attributes, capturing the author’s interest.
4. Psych (2006-2014)
A creation of Steve Franks, ‘Psych’ revolves around Shawn Spencer, a young man with superb observational skills. His father, Henry Spencer (Corbin Bernsen), taught him to always keep in mind even the minute details of his surroundings. When accused of committing a crime, Shawn uses his skill set to solve the case and convinces the police officers that he is a psychic. He proceeds to solve more cases for the police, bringing his reluctant best friend, Burton Guster (Dulé Hill), along for the ride. Shawn’s abilities appear similar to Charlie’s knack for knowing the truth in ‘Poker Face,’ with both using their skillset in uncovering perpetrators of criminal activities.
3. The Mentalist (2008-2015)
‘The Mentalist’ tells the story of Patrick Jane (Simon Baker), a former celebrity psychic who outs himself as a fraud and begins to work as an independent consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation. Using his superior observational skills, Patrick seemingly reads the minds of people to uncover the perpetrators of homicides. However, the real reason for him to give up his private practice and join law enforcement is to track down the serial killer Red John, who has brutally murdered his wife and child. Created by Bruno Heller, the skills of Patrick Jane, the protagonist of ‘The Mentalist,’ appear to be very similar to Charlie in ‘Poker Face,’ even though he is upfront about how it works.
2. Monk (2002-2009)
‘Monk’ by Andy Breckman is set around Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub), a former homicide detective in the San Francisco Police Department who is forced to quit after developing obsessive-compulsive disorder and 312 phobias, including that of germs. However, with the help of his assistants, Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram) and Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard), he continues to work as a private detective and consultant for law enforcement. While Charlie in ‘Poker Face’ gets to pick the unusual homicides she solves, the police approach Monk with the truly baffling cases with which they need special assistance.
1. Columbo (1971-1990)
Richard Levinson and William Link came up with ‘Columbo,’ the series that popularised the inverted detective story format, where the crime and perpetrator are seen at the outset. It follows Lieutenant Columbo (Peter Falk), a shrewd and observant homicide detective with an unassuming demeanor, who uses the clues around him to reach the culprit known to viewers, and trick them into a confession. Many parallels can be drawn between ‘Poker Face’ and ‘Columbo,’ as it takes upon the latter in following the “howcatchem” trope instead of the more typical “whodunnit.” Columbo’s line of questioning and gaining a confession from the perpetrators also brings to mind Charlie’s interactions with people, being a human lie-detector herself.
