Natasha Lyonne (and her dog) pose for EW’s ‘Poker Face’ portraits

This is what you came for

For Lyonne, who also writes, directs, and executive produces Poker Face, the project is one of the most joyful she’s ever worked on, thanks to the “how-catch-’em” format of the show which isn’t “really trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes,” she says.

“It’s like the audience is in on the process in a way, week to week. So it’s not really a question of how many times do you really want to see Nadia from Russian Doll fall down the stairs again,” she says, referring to her other iconic character. “You know what I mean? You do want to see a layer deeper. It’s not actually about Nadia dying [like in Russian Doll], Poker Face is actually about a guest of the week dying, and that’s what we all came for. So it’s just its own funny conversation or dialectic.”

A buffet of absurdity

Helberg, who plays FBI agent Luca in both seasons of Poker Face, describes Lyonne as “like if Gena Rowlands smashed into Joan Rivers and they had some sort of offspring, that’s her vibe. It’s very colorful, and it’s like a buffet of absurdity. As an actor, it’s impossible not to feel very alive in the scenes with her, and it just brings out the best and the strangeness in everybody. It gives this show that particular flavor.”

Picking favorites

When it comes to which of the many guest stars this season surprised her the most, Lyonne doesn’t hesitate. “I had a blast with Method Man,” she says of the Wu-Tang Clan rapper and actor, whose real name is Clifford Smith Jr. “I don’t want to offend John Mulaney, but I think Method Man might be funnier. So we really, really had a good time together and I think we might be the same person. He said in passing that I was now an honorary member of the Wu-Tang Clan. I don’t want to hold him to it. I think Christopher Mintz-Plasse is one as well.”

Putting it to bed [bugs]

Speaking of Mulaney, who plays a corrupt FBI agent in the third episode of the season, Lyonne clears up her side of his on-set bed bug saga. To recap, Mulaney went on The Tonight Show recently and told Jimmy Fallon about how he accidentally texted Grammy award-winning singer Miguel instead of his episode’s director, Miguel Arteta, to let him know he had gotten bed bugs from filming. He got the singer’s number from Lyonne, who admits she sent him the wrong contact info “quite on purpose.”

“In the middle of the night, when my friend Mulaney texted me asking for Miguel’s number to hear about the bed bugs and if there was a solution, of course I texted him the R&B singer Miguel’s number, because they call that the love of the game. Hilarity ensued,” she says.

The ace up your sleeve

Poker Face‘s first season debuted in 2023 to wide acclaim. It ultimately received a season 2 order just weeks into its run, and eventually earned four Emmy nominations (including lead comedy actress for Lyonne) while giving Peacock its first-ever Emmy win for Judith Light’s bonkers guest actress stint. The new episodes are already sitting pretty at 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

While Johnson credits the format of the show and all of the amazing guest stars with some of that success, he says the true secret sauce comes down to one thing: “I hope it feels a little bit like theater camp with us all, just pulling in our friends to have a good time making these weird little mini movies — but for me, Natasha is the answer. Natasha is at the heart of that experience.”

A nepo baby

Lyonne couldn’t resist bringing her pint-sized pooch to EW’s cover shoot, and naturally we couldn’t resist snapping a photo. Lyonne says Root Beer, 15, was just five months old when she “kidnapped her” and first started bringing the dog to the set of Orange Is the New Black. Clearly, being a star was in the cards for her. Says Lyonne, “Root Beer is what you call a nepo baby. I’ve never had that joy, but I’m glad that she does by proxy. She does a real good job, Root Beer.”