Every Odd Job Charlie Cale Has Had on Poker Face
A compilation of Charlie’s many side hustles.
Everyone’s favorite no-bullsh*t crime-solver Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) is back on the road on Poker Face, armed with nothing but her Plymouth Barracuda and her extraordinary ability to tell when someone is lying. As Charlie tries to outrun the mafia, she crosses paths with strange people and even weirder murder mysteries she can’t help but investigate.
Since catching bad guys and mob-dodging don’t pay the bills, Charlie moonlights as a go-kart attendant. And a movie extra. And a lunch lady. No job is too small for Charlie. Here’s a list of all the odd jobs she’s had on Poker Face.
Season 1, Episode 1: “Dead Man’s Hand”
Charlie’s Job: Casino Cocktail Waitress
The job that started it all. When her best friend and fellow casino worker is murdered, Charlie uncovers the truth: the owner's son ordered the hit to protect a powerful client. After exposing the plot, the casino owner promises to kill her, if he can ever catch her. Talk about wrongful termination.
Guest Stars: Adrien Brody, Dascha Polanco, and Noah Segan
Season 1, Episode 2: “The Night Shift”
Charlie’s Job: Scratch-Off Enthusiast
A broken-down Barracuda strands Charlie in the deserts of New Mexico, where a winning lottery ticket drives a mechanic to murder.
Guest Stars: John Ratzenberger, Hong Chau, and Brandon Micheal Hall
Season 1, Episode 3: “The Stall”
Charlie’s Job: BBQ Pitmaster
Charlie takes a job at a Texan BBQ joint to pay back her debts. When the head cook turns up dead, she discovers everything is bigger in Texas, especially the lies.
Guest Stars: Lil Rel Howery and Danielle Macdonald
Season 1, Episode 4: “Rest in Metal”
Charlie’s Job: Day Laborer and Merch Girl
After a brief (and unsuccessful) stint as a day laborer, Charlie is recruited by a one-hit-wonder metal band to sell merch on tour. Things kick into high tempo when the new drummer dies suspiciously mid-performance.
Guest Star: Chloë Sevigny
Season 1, Episode 5: “Time of the Monkey”
Charlie’s Job: Retirement Home Janitor
While working as a janitor, Charlie befriends two elderly residents with a colorful past. When a third resident is mysteriously killed, Charlie begins to suspect their past is even more colorful than originally thought.
Guest Stars: Judith Light, S. Epatha Merkerson, K Callan, and Simon Helberg
Season 1, Episode 6: “Exit Stage Death”
Charlie’s Job: Diner Waitress and Dinner Theater Waitress
After getting fired from a restaurant for being — and we’re quoting here — “the worst waitress ever,” Charlie finds work at the dinner theater next door. The show must go on, even after someone is murdered on stage.
Guest Stars: Ellen Barkin, Tim Meadows, and Jameela Jamil
Season 1, Episode 7: “The Future of the Sport”
Charlie’s Job: Go-Kart Attendant
Ready, set, sabotage? While working as a go-kart attendant in Tennessee, Charlie gets caught up in a scheme to destroy a race car driver’s family.
Guest Stars: Charles Melton and Tim Blake Nelson
Season 1, Episode 8: “The Orpheus Syndrome”
Charlie’s Jobs: Cleaner at a Barber Shop and Assistant to Special Effects Artist
Overwhelmed by the amount of bullsh*t flying around the barbershop, Charlie jumps at the chance to work for an aging special effects artist. There, she uncovers a string of movie-related murders and she must work through the smoke and mirrors to solve it.
Guest Stars: Nick Nolte, Cherry Jones, Luis Guzmán, Rowan Blanchard, and Tim Russ
Season 1, Episode 9: “Escape From Shit Mountain”
Charlie's Job: (Unofficial) Gas Station Attendant
Charlie cleans windshields in hopes of making enough money to escape the Colorado Rockies. Things take a turn when she becomes stranded in a blizzard with a shady motel owner, a kleptomaniac, and an ex-day trader under house arrest.
Guest Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Castañeda, and Stephanie Hsu
Season 1, Episode 10: “The Hook”
Charlie’s Job: Party Crasher
While technically not a paying gig, Charlie gives it her all on a bachelorette party bus to evade capture.
Guest Stars: Clea DuVall, Ron Perlman, Rhea Perlman, and Simon Helberg
Season 2, Episode 1: “The Game Is a Foot”
Charlie's Jobs: Parking Lot Attendant, Mummy at a Haunted Hayride, and Apple Picker
Season 2 picks up with Charlie still on the run, and still taking any job life throws at her. After being compromised by the mob at the parking lot and haunted hayride, she takes a gig at an apple orchard, where she befriends a former child actress – who turns out to be a sextuplet – after one of her sisters dies under unusual circumstances.
Guest Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Jasmine Guy, and Jin Ha
Season 2, Episode 2: “Last Looks”
Charlie’s Job: Background Actor
Charlie is cast as a corpse in a low-budget horror movie set in a funeral home. When the funeral director’s wife vanishes without a trace, she’s determined to get to the bottom of things.
Guest Stars: Giancarlo Esposito, Katie Holmes, Kevin Corrigan, Katharine Narducci, and Sherry Cola
Season 2, Episode 3: “Whack-A-Mole"
Charlie’s Job: Double Agent
In her riskiest job yet, Charlie plays double agent for the mob and the FBI.
Guest Stars: John Mulaney, Richard Kind, Chris Bauer, Simon Helberg, and Rhea Perlman
Season 2, Episode 4: “The Taste of Human Blood”
Charlie’s Jobs: Animal Rights Activist and Faux Cater Waiter
Charlie stops in the Florida panhandle to defend an alligator accused of murder. Typical Florida bullsh*t.
Guest Stars: Gaby Hoffmann, Kumail Nanjiani, Steve Buscemi (voice only), Shiloh Fernandez, John Sayles, and Matt Passmore
Season 2, Episode 5: “Hometown Hero”
Charlie’s Jobs: Administrative Assistant and Ball Girl for the Montgomery Cheesemongers
After trying and failing to settle into a 9 to 5, Charlie takes a job as a ball girl for the local minor league baseball team. She slides directly into a grand slam of lies, murder, and canned cheese.
Guest Stars: Simon Rex, B. J. Novak, Steve Buscemi (voice only), Carol Kane, Ego Nwodim, and Gil Birmingham
Season 2, Episode 6: “Sloppy Joseph”
Charlie’s Job: Elementary School Lunch Lady
Charlie dishes out suspicion when an elite elementary school’s class pet is (allegedly) accidentally killed.
Guest Star: Adrienne C. Moore
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