Renewals and Cancellations: 'Poker Face,' 'The Mole,' and 'True Detective'

By Dustin Rowles | TV | February 15, 2023 |

By Dustin Rowles | TV | February 15, 2023 |

Save for Avenue 5 (shrug), it’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve seen a significant cancelation. That won’t change today, as it’s more good news for people who like good (or decent) television. Peacock may finally be hitting its stride after the popularity of Traitors (which has already been renewed for a second season) and the growing interest in Natasha Lyonne’s Poker Face. Today, Peacock has announced a season two pick-up of that series, too, which is good. It would’ve been embarrassing to spend $7 million to promote the show during the Super Bowl (with a mediocre ad) only to turn around and cancel it.

Elsewhere, Netflix doesn’t cancel everything. In fact, besides renewing That ’90s Show recently, they’ve now decided to bring back another season of The Mole reboot. I forgot to review it a few months ago, but I watched the first season with my family and we were all sufficiently entertained. It’s a reality-competition series somewhat similar to Traitors where a group of contestants must ferret out a mole who is low-key sabotaging the game while everyone else is trying to earn money doing challenges. It’s a little overly produced, and all the contestants are too CW, but it’s entertaining.

In other TV news, here’s the first look at Jodie Foster and Kali Reis’s True Detective: Night Country, set in a small town in Alaska. The series will also feature Christopher Eccleston, John Hawkes, and Fiona Shaw, and it comes from writer/director Issa López.

There’s also 8 seconds of footage.

The darkness of The Arctic falls heavy upon #NightCountry. pic.twitter.com/RLCWMqw7Yx

— HBO (@HBO) February 15, 2023

I don’t know how well Lucky Man starring Bob Odenkirk will do for AMC, but I am stoked for it. Not only do I love Odenkirk, but Richard Russo’s source material is brilliant (and due for a re-read ahead of the series). I love a good story set in the world of academia, and I continue to root for AMC.

It’s also worth noting here that It’s Always Sunny darling Kaitlin Olsen will lead the cast of HIP (High Intellectual Potential). The series comes from Drew Goddard (The Martian, Cabin in the Woods); Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars, iZombie) will be showrunner. The remake, according to Deadline, “centers on Morgan (Olson), a single mom with three kids and an exceptional mind who helps solve an unsolvable crime when she rearranges some evidence during her shift as a cleaner for the police department. When they discover she has a knack for putting things in order because of her high intellectual potential she is brought on as a consultant to work with a by-the-book seasoned detective, and together they form an unusual and unstoppable team.” The show is a remake of a popular French series, and I bet was fast-tracked because of the success of Poker Face.