Johnson’s films and TV work have become known for being rather aggressively postmodern, so it’s sort of surprising in itself to watch a show that’s so classicist in its storytelling, with only occasional offhand - and genuinely funny - references to contemporary cultural ephemera. Brick riffed on hard-boiled detective noir, the Benoit Blanc films on the whodunits of Agatha Christie, and Poker Face falls right in line with TV mainstays like Columbo (the show even replicates the title font of Tumblr’s favorite 1970s crime series).
Ĭreated by Rian Johnson (with some episodes written and directed by him) with showrunners Lilla and Nora Zuckerman (previously writers on Fringe), the 10-episode Peacock series finds the Knives Out director grappling yet again with the tropes of detective fiction. If you want curated lists of our favorite media, check out What to Play and What to Watch. When we award the Polygon Recommends badge, it’s because we believe the recipient is uniquely thought-provoking, entertaining, inventive, or fun - and worth fitting into your schedule. Polygon Recommends is our way of endorsing our favorite games, movies, TV shows, comics, tabletop books, and entertainment experiences.
