Its important that we are still our show even when were shaking it up.
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Poker Facehas been a surprising treat in the world of streaming TV this winter.
Whos going to die on this weeksPoker Face?
On the other hand, though, not really.
This goes back to the stuff I grew up watching as a kid.
I dont think I could have ended the season without giving it some big season ending.
Had you considered trying to hold off the Benjamin Bratt resolution for longer?
And thats what felt exciting about coming back to him and making him so central tothe finale.
But yes, I felt like we couldve easily kept him going in that mode.
Which is why it felt exciting to snap it.
Lilla and Nora Zuckerman, our showrunners, pitched that twist.
We still do a version of the crime, the flashback.
We shuffle it a little bit, but it still gives you the structure.
And that was important to me, too, that we dont entirely break form with the last two.
Even when youre doing sweeps week.Yeah, exactly.
A very special episode.
My only regret is that we didnt do a To be continued …
I was always so excited watching TV when that came up!
On a fundamental storytelling level, it means she needs skin in the game.
It ended up being one of the great strengths of the character its not her job.
But shes like De Niro at the end ofHeat.
She just cant leave it alone.
I wont lie, though.
And then, when we flashback, the dog is in the car with Charlie.
But I kept hitting this issue that it was too mean.
I was like Ray Liotta inGoodfellaswhen he hears about the heist.
Shes got a good setup.
Even if its in Laughlin, Nevada.
If she was a cynic, it would be very difficult.
You buy that shes made friends with whatever people are around, and she assumes the best of everybody.
I was curious about that choice.
That doesnt just mean solving the crime.
That means feeling some element of justice, that were happy we saw that justice happen.
You get that if the detective is a cop and hes happy he found the guy in the end.
You have to feel angry with the idea that someone has gotten away with this crime.
Its not just what shes been assigned that week and the satisfaction of seeing her accomplish it.
I pitched him TV.
I said I wanted to do a great TV show!
It gets you back!
Certainly streaming TV, yeah.Or prestige TV or whatever you want to call it.
I felt like I was speaking another language when I was pitching it.
But I dont know!
The feint of Will Sam ever get home?
its not ever like you actually wonder if hes going to get home.
Youre really coming back to see where hes going next week, what body hes going to jump into.
What do you think?
way that gave me hope is the resurgence in popularity of old sitcoms on streaming platforms.
In reality, thats what were describing.
But I love endings too much to have ever done that.
So many of my great memories of what I loved are feelings of endings.
I write very structurally.
I was waiting for one!Eventually, well probably do one.
But for whatever reason it always felt unsatisfying to me.
Simon Helbergs FBI character, Luca, seems relevant here.
That gives me the creeps!
It doesnt feel like her and it doesnt feel like the show.
It had to be someone with an overarching jurisdiction.
But now that makes me want to have a bad-FBI episode in season two!
It was really nice for Charlie to have at least one longer-term connection to someone.
Sherlock Holmes doesnt work without Watson!
He also feels like a pressure-release valve.
you’re able to very much outstay your welcome by being too cheeky about that element of it.
But it does feel good to have Charlie say, I have been kind of a death magnet.
I am always thinking about real estate in terms of minutes on the screen or pages in the script.
Even though its appealing!
The format of the show is built to run forever.
I guess its streaming, so maybe 100th episode.
It works two different muscles at once.
Im curious about motives.
Or is it?Well, we havent yet!
We had that on the board, though, and we wouldnt necessarily not do something like that.
How do you think about balancing Charlies bullshit meter?
Its key to the premise, so it has to show up regularly.
Theres the moment in the barbecue episode where she catches Danielles character in the lie about the paprika.
But for the most part it was about trying to find the least obvious to use it.
That would really give her the sense that somethings fishy, and then she starts digging into investigating.
Do you have a dream list of guest stars for next season?Oh my God, so many.
But also its tough casting is really, really hard.
When I was pitching this, I kept saying, Why arent people making shows like this anymore?
And then halfway through making this season, I was like,Oh!
Its harder than you think.
I cant believe the lineup we got for this season, and our casting directors did the Lords work.
But it was not easy.
