Rapid Insights: Poker Face’s Truth-Seeking, Crime-Solving Heroine Is an Ace in the Hole

Hot on the heels of Glass Onion’s success comes writer-director Rian Johnson’s first foray into showrunning, and his new series leans into the same mystery-comedy formula that has made the Knives Out franchise such a hit. Premiering on Peacock at the end of this month, the show sets up a ‘mystery-of-the-week’ format and follows the town-to-town travels of Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie, a woman with uncanny intuition who can’t help but solve the strange crimes (involving a host of familiar-faced guest stars) she encounters at every stop. Here’s what you need to know about Poker Face:

Who will be tuning in for this mystery series?
An older audience. We’re predicting a viewership that leans female (54%) and skews heavily toward those 30+ (71%, with 42% landing in the 45+ range). This marks a more unusual deviation from the typical SVOD viewer profile; concept-wise, Poker Face seems close kin to two of Peacock’s other mystery-drama series (The Resort, One of Us Is Lying), but audience-wise, it looks substantially older (vs. 60% aged 30+ and 58% aged 30+, respectively).

What’s the show’s biggest draw?
Charlie at the center of every crime scene. She proves to be a Strong, rootworthy Female Protagonist (153) with the Ambition & Drive (141) to back up her considerable crime-solving talents. Secrets & Lies (160) don’t get past her, especially since she never backs down when Under Threat (138) or in the face of Action & Violence (137).

What will keep viewers glued to their seats?
Charlie’s impressive skill set. Both brilliant and brash, she has the unerring ability to sniff out lies; she charms with her bold Charisma & Confidence (142) and uses Psychological Manipulation (127) to make suspects reveal their secrets. And thanks to her nose for tells, she always wins big at her favorite pastime: Gambling (155). All of these stellar assets are top drivers for the series’ bingeability.

Why is Charlie on the road solving crimes?
She wants to help. Charlie is fascinated by humanity and loves to meet new people of all stripes (Social Contact, 128), and, feeling uniquely qualified thanks to her unusual crime-solving talents, she’s driven by Idealism (135) to uncover harmful truths that would otherwise lay buried. Both of her core desires are ratings draws for the show.

Which aspect of the show will help it reach a second season?
Its never-ending cycle of Murder Mysteries (121). When police-led Criminal Investigations (138) fail, Charlie picks up where they left off, and the process of collecting evidence, interrogating suspects, and Solving A Murder (149) in each new town sets up a repeatable story engine and a dependable driver of longevity.

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