Umbrella Academy Star David Castañeda Boards Rian Johnson Mystery Series Poker Face
In news that has us ready to break out in dance "Umbrella Academy" style, David Castañeda has reportedly joined the cast of upcoming Peacock mystery series "Poker Face." Per Variety, the actor best known as superhero Diego Hargreeves is the latest addition to the new series created by Rian Johnson.
Castañeda is joining an already-impressive cast that includes "Russian Doll" star Natasha Lyonne (also an executive producer), "Super Pumped" lead Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Stephanie Hsu, who recently blew audiences away as Joy in "Everything Everywhere All At Once." The dynamic cast and "Knives Out" filmmaker Johnson's involvement make "Poker Face" a project to watch, even if there's still little publicly known information about it.
Natasha Lyonne: crime-solver!
Per Variety's sources, "Poker Face" will be a procedural style mystery show in which Lyonne's character investigates murders. But with Johnson at the helm, I imagine it'll be a lot more interesting than your typical procedural. Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, the team behind "Prodigal Son," will both serve as showrunners and will also executive produce. Other executive producers include Maya Rudolph, Danielle Renfrew Behrens, Ram Bergman, and Nena Rodrigue. The show is currently set up with a 10-episode first season order.
Aside from his role in "Poker Face," Castañeda is also set to return as Diego in the highly anticipated third season of Netflix's "Umbrella Academy" in June. The superhero saga is based on Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá's comic book series, and is as much about familial dysfunction as it is about saving the world. Diego is one of seven superpowered siblings, who were all adopted as children by an eccentric billionaire in an attempt to mold them into a cohesive superhero team. Diego's powers of object manipulation makes him a skilled fighter and core member of the team, and Castañeda's performance as the Hargreeves family's overly-serious knife-flinging vigilante has made him a fan favorite.
The Johnson-Lyonne collaboration was first announced in March 2021, when NBCUniversal Television and Streaming's president of scripted content, Lisa Katz, had this to say:
"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. Paired with the acting genius of Natasha Lyonne, this series will be entertaining and addictive."
Oh, just one more thing. It's certainly too early to speculate about "Poker Face" with any degree of certainty, but that won't stop me from confessing my one wish for the show. After seeing Lyonne's turn as an annoying but endearing smartass Nadia in "Russian Doll," I can't help but hope this project is somehow a "Columbo" reboot–with her stepping into the trenchcoat of Detective Columbo. There are actually a few clues supporting this wild, Columbo-esque accusation, like the fact that Johnson tagged Lyonne in a tweet about the classic detective show before, and that Lyonne herself has publicly mentioned wanting to take on the role. NBCUniversal also owns the rights to the beloved detective series. How curious!
"Poker Face" does not yet have a release date, but will debut on Peacock.