‘Poker Face’: When and Where to Stream Rian Johnson’s New Mystery Series

Boasting a cast sheet that looks like a guest list for an Oscars afterparty, Poker Face is a new murder-of-the-week show from Knives Out creator Rian Johnson that’s exclusive to Peacock in the US. Likened to a 21st century update of Columbo, the whodunit series features Russian Doll star Natasha Lyonne in the lead role as Charlie, an accidental sleuth with the uncanny ability to sense when someone is telling a lie. 

Each new episode brings a whole new mystery for Charlie to solve along with an array of celeb cameos, with Adrien Brody, Stephanie Hsu, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ron Perlman, Ellen Barkin and Chloë Sevigny all making appearances during this first season. In his review of Poker Face, CNET’s Rich Trenholm described it as “highly snackable comfort viewing,” and it looks like a show no crime drama fan will want to miss. Read on to learn how to watch, no matter where you are in the world.

Release dates for Poker Face

In the US and Canada, the first four episodes of Poker Face became available for streaming on Thursday, Jan. 26, with new episodes added weekly every Thursday at 12 a.m. PT (3 a.m. ET). The series finale goes out on March 9.

The show arrived Down Under via Australian streaming service Stan on Friday, Jan. 27.

Read more: Best Streaming Service of 2023: Netflix, HBO Max, Disney Plus and More

How to watch Poker Face from anywhere with a VPN

Perhaps you’re traveling abroad and want to stream Peacock while away from home. With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to TV shows and movies from anywhere in the world. There are other good reasons to use a VPN for streaming, too. 

A VPN is the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds by encrypting your traffic. Using a VPN is also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins. Streaming TV can be a bit smoother with a reliable, quality VPN that’s passed our tests and security standards.

You can use a VPN to stream content legally as long as VPNs are legal in your country and you have a valid subscription to the streaming service you’re using. The US and Canada and are among the countries where VPNs are legal, but we advise against streaming or downloading content on illegal torrent sites. We recommend ExpressVPN, but you may opt for another provider from our best list such as Surfshark or NordVPN. 

Sarah Tew/CNET

If you’re looking for a secure and dependable VPN, our Editors’ Choice is ExpressVPN. It’s fast, works on multiple devices and provides stable streams. It’s normally $13 per month, but you can sign up for ExpressVPN and save 35%  — the equivalent of $8.32 per month — if you get an annual subscription. 

ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Read our review of ExpressVPN.

 

Follow the VPN provider’s instructions for installation, and choose a country where Poker Face will be streaming. We’ve successfully tested using Peacock and an ExpressVPN server in New York City, so that’s one location you could choose to watch this much-anticipated mystery show.

Before you open the streaming app, make sure you are connected to your VPN using your selected region. If you want to stream Poker Face on more than one device, it’s possible you’ll need to configure each one to ensure you are signed in. Go to settings and check your network connections to verify you’re logged in and connected to your VPN account. 

If you run into issues with streaming, first make sure your VPN is up and running on its encrypted IP address. Double-check that you’ve followed installation instructions correctly and you’ve picked the right geographical area for viewing. If you still encounter connection problems, you may need to reboot your device. Close all apps and windows, restart your device and connect to your VPN first. Note that some streaming services have restrictions on VPN access. 

Read more: Best VPN 2023: VPNs Tested and Rated by Our Experts

Stream Poker Face in the US on Peacock

James Martin/CNET

As for most Peacock Originals, you’ll need a Peacock Premium subscription to watch Poker Face. It costs $5 a month for limited commercials, or $10 a month for Peacock Premium Plus, which removes any ad-related interruptions as well as giving you the option to download select content to watch offline.

Usually, that runs at much as $99 per year. But for a limited time, Peacock is offering new (and some returning) Premium and Premium Plus subscribers a big discount on annual memberships: just $30 for Premium and $35 for Premium Plus with the discount code NEWYEAR23

Before you take the plunge, though, note that you may be able to get Peacock Premium for free, with certain cable companies like Spectrum and Comcast currently offering discounts and extended free trial promotions.

Stream in Canada with Citytv

Citytv

Like the US, Poker Face will be available to watch in Canada from Thursday, Jan. 26 via Citytv Plus.

The on-demand service is currently only available as an add-on channel as part of an Amazon Prime Video subscription which will costs CA$5 a month, that’s in addition to the CA$10 fee for Amazon Prime Video.

However, as both offer a 30-day free trial to new and returning subscribers, you could watch a large chunk of Poker Face while paying absolutely nothing for a whole month.

Stream in Australia with Stan

The great news for Aussie sleuth-show fans is that streaming service Stan will be showing Poker Face pretty much in tandem with Peacock in the US from Friday, Jan. 27.

Stan comes in three favors: Stan Basic allows you one SD stream for AU$10 per month, Stan Standard gives you three HD streams for AU$14 per month, while Stan Premium gets you four 4K streams for AU$19 per month.

However, newcomers to the service can take advantage of a 30-day free trial, meaning you can watch a big chunk of Poker Face without paying a cent.

Is Poker Face available to watch in the UK?

It looks like there’s a wait in store for UK viewers hoping to watch Rian Johnson’s latest project, with no release date or broadcaster currently confirmed for the region. With Peacock Originals like Girls5eva and Bel-Air having previously been available on Sky TV and its on-demand service Now, we’d expect that’s where Poker Face will eventually end up.

source: cnet.com