Natasha Lyonne and Chloe Sevigny's Poker Face episode takes inspiration from a famous Columbo episode

For his new murder mystery series, Rian Johnson is calling up the detective series of days passed for inspiration, including Murder She Wrote, Magnum P.I., Quantum Leap, and primarily, Columbo. Johnson cites the Peter Falk vehicle as the main inspiration for the show’s format and style. With Natasha Lyonne taking on the role of Charlie Cale, Johnson hopes audiences love her just as much as the mumbling, endearing, and astute Lieutenant Columbo.

Ahead of Poker Face’s premiere on January 26, Johnson and Lyonne have shared their favorite episodes of the long-running detective series. The latter recalls one of the most iconic episodes of Columbo: “Etudé In Black,” which saw longtime friends and collaborators Falk and indie film pioneer John Cassavetes brilliantly showdown.

“Ah, that one has two boyfriends: John and Peter,” Lyonne tells The New York Times of the episode. “So it’s nice to see them reunited. It warms my heart.”

Cassavetes took on the role of the week’s villain for “Etudé In Black,” playing a renowned composer who murders his mistress (and incidentally, her bird). Falk had previously worked with Cassavetes on his film Husbands, and their close friendship made “Etudé In Black” one of the most thrilling episodes of the series as viewers got to watch the two duke it out on-screen (Akin to Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in Heat).

“I love what that episode is saying about the possibility of working together with people you care about. For example, Dascha Polanco was in Orange Is the New Black and Russian Doll, and now she’s in Poker Face,” Lyonne says. “To have Janicza Bravo, who I’ve worked with a few times, and me and Rootbeer [Lyonne’s dog] hanging out in upstate New York, breaking down a script, is everything I love about making things.”

Falk would later lead Cassavetes’ film, A Woman Under The Influence, before the two co-starred in Elaine May’s Mikey And Nicky. For Lyonne, she hopes to recreate a bit of the dynamic between Falk and Cassavetes in “Etudé In Black” in the episode with her and her bestie, Chloe Sevigny.

“Of course my love for Chloë [Sevigny] is complete, and what was fun on Poker Face is that [her and Lyonne’s characters] are not pals. That’s her nemesis,” Lyonne says. “There is a real joy to get to do that with somebody that you know so intimately, because you can take bigger swings and keep each other honest. It’s just sparky and fun.”

For Johnson, he turns to another absolute banger episode: Season three’s “Any Old Port In A Storm.” The episode features the sensational Donald Pleasence as wine lover Adrian Carsini, who kills off his brother so he can keep ogling over $5000 bottles of vino.

“I could have pulled any number of Columbo episodes out of a hat,” Johnson says. “The one with Lindsay Crouse as a sex therapist is terrific, and Columbo is adorably embarrassed whenever she talks about sex.”

“But I came back to ‘Any Old Port in a Storm,’” he continues. “It’s a diabolically clever entrapment that Columbo pulls off, and it’s very satisfying. It gets to the heart of what I think the actual appeal of Columbo is, which is that it’s stealthily a hangout show with Peter Falk. The mysteries are always really well-constructed, and the cat-and-mouse in this one was very fun. But it really is all about watching Falk be Falk every single week. You’re tuning in to see Columbo and the guest star interact with each other and hang out.”

Only time will tell if Poker Face will manage to conjure the magic of Columbo.