If You Liked Cynthia Erivo’s Poker Face Appearance, You Have to Check Out The Outsider

Poker Face is backmost connected Peacock, and its season two premiere features a gangbusters guest-star crook by Cynthia Erivo—playing multiple identical siblings caught up successful the latest execution puzzle to transverse paths with Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne). While fans present instantly subordinate Erivo with her Oscar-nominated crook arsenic Elphaba successful Wicked, 1 of her archetypal large showcases came connected different crime-infused TV series: HBO’s The Outsider.

The Outsider ran successful aboriginal 2020, concurrent with Erivo’s archetypal Oscar information (for 2019’s Harriet), but its airing connected specified a popular, mainstream level meant that it was galore viewers’ archetypal clip seeing her perform. That it was based connected the 2018 Stephen King caller of the aforesaid sanction besides helped gully interest, arsenic did the remainder of the cast: Jason Bateman, Ben Mendelsohn, Paddy Considine (pre-House of the Dragon), and Yul Vasquez (pre-Severance), among others. But if you watched it—and if you didn’t, present would beryllium a fantastic clip to start!—the then-emerging prima Erivo near the biggest impression.

© HBO

Erivo plays a recurring Stephen King character, Holly Gibney. Holly made her debut successful 2014’s Mr. Mercedes (in the bid adaptation of that tale, she was played by Succession‘s Justine Lupe), and she’s inactive around—she’s the cardinal quality successful Never Flinch, King’s latest novel, which releases aboriginal this month.

In HBO’s The Outsider, Holly’s the co-lead with Mendelsohn’s Ralph Anderson, a Georgia bull grappling with idiosyncratic demons portion facing the astir perplexing lawsuit of his career. When a lad is recovered horribly murdered, each the grounds points to a beloved section shot manager (Bateman), who insists he’s innocent, but is gunned down earlier his arraignment. The spectator is privy to a unusual fig with a malformed look skulking astir the show’s aboriginal proceedings—and Ralph, a seasoned detective, inactive can’t shingle the thought that the accused was someway telling the truth.

An antithetic transgression calls for an antithetic investigator, truthful that’s erstwhile Erivo’s quality enters the story. Holly’s abilities—she’s highly perceptive, to the constituent of being extra-sensory; she besides has originative quirks, similar knowing lyrics to songs she’s ne'er heard before—make her an perfect foil for Ralph, a no-nonsense feline abruptly confronted with the conception that a supernatural mentation whitethorn beryllium the only explanation.

Even beyond the outstanding performances, the 10-episode Outsider is simply a chilling, rewarding ride. It follows a terrifying thread to immoderate precise acheronian places, with ambiance to spare and an ending that satisfies—but besides makes you privation HBO would’ve signed connected for more. Alas, astatine slightest we got Erivo bringing the location down successful Wicked, and memorably taking implicit the surface successful Poker Face‘s return.

The Outsider is streaming connected Max. Poker Face is streaming connected Peacock.

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