Saving “Face”?

This is one of the weirder TV switcheroos, ranking right up there with actor Dick Sargent suddenly replacing Dick York as husband Darrin Stephens on the 1964-1972 hit series Bewitched.

Viewers were informed late last week that the streaming service Peacock had chosen not to renew its critically applauded crime comedy-drama Poker Face, starring Natasha Lyonne as a quirky human lie detector, for a third season. At the same time, reports were that the show’s creator, Rian Johnson, was busy shopping it around to some other small-screen broadcaster willing to give Poker Face a two-season commitment. Oh, and there was another wrinkle: Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) would replace Lyonne as Charlie Cale.

Lyonne, who does double duty as an executive producer of this mystery series, has apparently endorsed the changes. A joint statement from her and Johnson says, “We’ve been germinating this next move together since writing the season two finale. We love our Poker Face and this is the perfect way to keep it rolling. Give us a beat and we may just see Charlie Cale again down that open highway.”

CrimeReads’ Olivia Rutigliano jokes that Poker Face is “Doctor Who-ing itself,” leaving us to wonder whether, every couple of TV seasons, we should expect to see “an entirely new incarnation of a particular character.” The rest of us are simply confused. Can we call the betting odds on Poker Face’s future better than 50-50?