HBO chairman and CEO Casey Bloys said Thursday there have been “conversations” about picking up writer-director Rian Johnson’s “Poker Face” with new, proposed star Peter Dinklage.
Bloys was asked about the possibility during a Thursday showcase in New York for HBO’s upcoming content. The subject came up just a week after Peacock announced it had canceled “Poker Face,” following the conclusion of its second season in early July.
The show’s cancellation was accompanied by the revelation that Johnson, the show’s creator, and MRC had begun shopping the series around to other streamers and networks with the hopes of acquiring a new two-season commitment elsewhere.
On top of that, it was announced that any future seasons of “Poker Face” would not star series lead Natasha Lyonne. Instead, Johnson’s new pitch for “Poker Face” features Peter Dinklage taking over the lead role of human lie detector Charlie Cale in the murder mystery series. Dinklage, of course, has history with HBO, having starred as Tyrion Lannister in all eight seasons of its fantasy hit series “Game of Thrones.”
With that in mind, Bloys was asked Thursday whether or not he and HBO were considering partnering with Dinklage again on new “Poker Face” episodes. “It’s funny because we heard the original take, and when I heard that Peacock wasn’t moving forward, we were curious,” Bloys said.
“We’ve had conversations, but I don’t know which way it’ll go,” the HBO CEO added. “I think Rian is a fantastic filmmaker, and I love the idea of Peter Dinklage, but I have nothing to report on that.”
The decision to have Lyonne step down was reportedly a mutual one between her and Johnson. If “Poker Face” does gain new life somewhere else, she is set to stay onboard as an executive producer. Johnson’s overall plan would be to have a new actor take on the role of Charlie Cale every two seasons of “Poker Face,” with Dinklage being the first to step into the shoes originally filled by Lyonne.
“We’ve been germinating this next move together since writing the Season 2 finale,” Lyonne and Johnson said last week in a joint statement to Deadline. “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.”
