One of Poker Face‘s biggest staples is its seemingly endless stable of guest stars, and in season 2, Fred Armisen was almost one of them. But when he couldn’t make it work, series star and writer, director, and executive producer Natasha Lyonne found a way to include him anyways.
“I mean, there’s so many characters in the second episode, which I just stole from Fred,” she tells Entertainment Weekly, laughing at the memory. But her nods to Armisen — whom she dated for eight years before the two eventually called it quits in 2022 — didn’t stop in episode 2, which she directed and co-wrote with Alice Ju.
“Fred always says that his dying words on his death bed are going to be ‘last looks,’ so I did that episode’s title, really the joke, for him,” Lyonne says. “And then named the character Fred [played by Giancarlo Esposito] in his honor, and would send him all these screenshots of, ‘Look, I gave him a record player, Freddy, because you love records! Sorry, this isn’t your part!'”
According to Lyonne, she and series creator Rian Johnson have been texting the comedian and actor since season 1 to get him to come play, but, she says, “Then he’s always got one gig, one tour date that makes it just impossible for Freddy.”
Season 2 of Peacock’s mystery-of-the-week hit, which follows Lyonne’s Charlie Cale as she finds herself embroiled in cases around the country thanks to her inhuman ability to suss out when someone is lying, hit the streamer last Thursday with its first three episodes. Guest stars this season include: Alia Shawkat, Awkwafina, Carol Kane, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Corey Hawkins, David Krumholtz, Davionte “GaTa” Ganter, Ego Nwodim, Gaby Hoffmann, Haley Joel Osment, Jason Ritter, John Cho, Justin Theroux, Kathrine Narducci, Kevin Corrigan, Kumail Nanjiani, Margo Martindale, Melanie Lynskey, Patti Harrison, Sam Richardson, Sherry Cola, and Simon Rex.
Roger Kisby/Peacock
Natasha Lyonne, Rian Johnson, Uzo Aduba at the Hollywood Legion on May 1, 2025
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As for others who didn’t quite make the cut, Lyonne says Nick Kroll “almost came through the set of Poker Face this year,” but he “had some childcare issues.” But the biggest letdown for Lyonne was probably her longtime pal and former Orange Is the New Black scene partner Uzo Aduba. “I won’t tell you which role it is, but there was a good one,” Lyonne teases. “It’s not Cynthia [Erivo’s], you’d never guess it watching it, so I won’t tell you, but God, she was going to crush. But there was one in particular that Uzo and I had been planning on all year, and then the dates got all screwy because it’s a crazy show.”
For more with Lyonne, check out EW’s Poker Face cover story.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
