Natasha Lyonne says Cynthia Erivo was at ‘peak of her powers' on Poker Face season 2

Yahoo

08-05-2025

Natasha Lyonne has called Cynthia Erivo "one of the singularly most obscenely talented people I've met in my life" as the Wicked star features in Sky's comedy-drama Poker Face, returning for a second season.
She joins fellow guest stars Awkwafina, John Mulaney, Katie Holmes, Corey Hawkins and Kumail Nanjiani who all cross paths in mysterious circumstances with Lyonne's lead character Charlie Cale, herself a human lie detector on the run from the Nevada mob.
Erivo appears in a variety of guises, playing identical siblings to chaotic comic effect in the second series opener, directed by Poker Face creator Rian Johnson. Considering Wicked's phenomenal global pop culture takeover this past year, Yahoo UK asks where in the Wicked timeline did they get Erivo for this?
"Well, I'll be honest, I don't know," Lyonne says, "because I don't think I was keeping up with the Wicked timeline as much as I should've been, in retrospect. It was definitely before the Oscars, because I think by then we'd wrapped production (on Poker Face).
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But it was probably on that tour because His Three Daughters (starring Lyonne, Carrie Coon and Elizabeth Olsen) was also being considered (for Oscars) and now spoiler alert, did not get nominated as much as Wicked. Never give up though! Never give up."
Natasha Lyonne and Cynthia Erivo star in Poker Face S2. (Sky)
"Cynthia was extraordinary," adds Lyonne. "I don't know what phase she was in but whatever phase it was, it was the peak of her powers and there seemed to be no shortage of those, and I think that phase will last quite some time. I adore her."
It was a busy time all round, with Lyonne sharing directing, writing and exec producing duties alongside Rian Johnson and a team of writers who've worked on everything from Parks and Recreation to The Good Place and Atlanta.
Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba in Wicked, directed by Jon M. Chu (Universal Pictures)
"It was a lot of everybody trying to figure out how to be in two places at once, so that's why I'm trying to get some separate cells, sort of like, remember Daisy the clone?" Daisy was a clone of Dolly, the OG 1996 cloned sheep, although Daisy made headlines of her own, on account of being born without a tail due to a genetic programming error. When you're juggling complex call sheets that also feature Alia Shawkat, Simon Helberg, Giancarlo Esposito and Justin Theroux, why not marvel at infamous sheep clones?
"You never hear much about her (Daisy, or Dolly) any more, do you?" adds Lyonne. "It was a major event when she first appeared in the early 00s I think. We did it, we cloned one, and then just like that," she clicks her fingers, "out of the news. Couldn't retain that attention like a Kardashian (can), huh. Well, something to think about."
Natasha Lyonne and Rian Johnson attend the Los Angeles premiere of Poker Face Season 2. (Matt Winkelmeyer/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images)
"Rian (Johnson) is a very funny person,' says Natasha Lyonne, reflecting on the episode The Game is a Foot, "so is Cynthia and they're both so talented and so good at what they do that makes it very fun. So, if she (Erivo) was on a Wicked tour, it sure as pudding wasn't stopping her. That's a very famous catchphrase."
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Speaking of catchphrases, famous or fictional, Poker Face is stuffed with pause and rewind quips. An upcoming episode, which Lyonne also directs and co-writes, finds her character at the beach, daydreaming. Sitting next to a kid in the sand, Lyonne delivers the line: "I might even run for sheriff of Aspen. I see my Hunter S Thompson references are lost on you, that's why we need to keep books in Florida libraries".
Natasha Lyonne stars in Poker Face S2. (Sky)
"Oh, I wrote that!" Lyonne recalls. "I thought that was funny. I guess I'd been to Aspen, which was random as I'm not really an Aspen type it turns out. I didn't realise that he (writer Hunter S Thompson) had run for sheriff of Aspen, and that made me laugh. The rest of it, books in libraries, it's a non sequitur of sorts and that's fun because that kid, well he's wearing headphones and can't hear a word I'm saying can he, so it's joyful."
It's also a sardonic social commentary. "Well, I stand by it," she says. "I do think we need to keep books in libraries, especially in Florida, I'm not afraid to say it. It never turns out well when we start banning books, does it? It's never really a sign of the times going well, per se."
Rian Johnson refers to Poker Face as a hangout show, easy and fun to spend time with. The type of show like Murder She Wrote or Columbo, where if you flick on your screen and find an episode, you'll stay for the ride. With that in mind, while there is an ongoing series story arc, each episode works as a standalone case to solve, and Lyonne says she's not precious if viewers jump in at any point.
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"Yeah, I think you could probably come into it at any time," she says. "Well, you can really do whatever you'd like in this life, it's sort of none of my business. Just try not to cause new harm."
Poker Face is on Sky and NOW, with the first three episodes of series 2 arriving on 8 May 2025, and continuing weekly.