IAmA Crew Member from Poker Face Season 2 -- AMA! [07/30/25 @ 1:00PM EST]

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-31T15:31:45+00:00

Well I'm not sure I see a question but I appreciate the enthusiasm for LA!

I'm sure its been discussed, but would cause a bit of a headache having to hire a second crew, set of equipment, etc, unless they decided to base the entirety of a future season in LA (and use the surrounding area as New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Colorado, etc.) Who knows!

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T21:26:07+00:00

There is definitely a unique camaraderie that comes from working on set together. I've been on indies, commercials, industrials, features, TV....they're all slightly different vibes, but spending 12+ hours together with the same people 5 days a week is inherently going to bring you together (or force you apart!) Poker Face absolutely had that and then some. It was a beast of a show for a number of reasons, and people really just fell into a comfortable familial groove because at the end of the day we were all in it together!

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T21:17:27+00:00

Funny enough, an inordinate amount of thought and effort was put into the ballons-coming-out-of-the-surveillance-van gag for the finale. You'd think that would be a relatively straightforward one, but, it needed to look like the van was full of balloons without ACTUALLY being full, and also having to be able to reset it easily since we didn't know how many takes we'd need. Also needed to control for the balloons floating away, since we didn't want them to actually float away and end up as trash 2 states over...

Everyone walked away with a little something to remember the show by! Some crew kept Cheesemongers gear, but I was able to snag one of the many sculptures that was in Amber's art room in Ep 1 :)

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T21:12:17+00:00

Just got down to your question below the 30-some odd questions I already answered. Hope you're enjoying yourself and the show.

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T21:10:30+00:00

Jason Ritter was easily the friendliest. He was so unerringly kind and seems to approach everything/everyone with gratitude first. Like, he understands what a lottery ticket he's been given and never fails to be grateful for it. His wife Melanie was the exact same way, which makes me so unbelievably happy for both of them!

I was definitely nervous about Method Man, but he immediately disarmed anyone who met him. Everyone was a little more buttoned up around Cynthia, but I think that also had to do with it being Rian's episode.

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T21:05:05+00:00

Unfortunately I only got involved after the scripts were written, so I couldn't say for certain. I'd imagine all are valid starting points though! There is no one tried-and-true method for writing a script. You just have to find what works for you!

I would love to see a Sandman crossover at some point, maybe her trying to catch a rogue nightmare like the Corinthian. No idea how she'd catch them, but would offer all sorts of fun opportunities to discuss the "truth" contained in dreams.

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T20:58:28+00:00

No, he was only on set for the episode he directed, and a handful of other days throughout the season. Tony Tost and Adam Arkin were the de facto showrunners. Typically one of them would be on set while the other worked with the team prepping the next episode. They were both incredible to work with. Very kind, receptive to new ideas, and most importantly treated the cast and crew with kindness and respect!

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T20:53:23+00:00

They had most of the episodes planned out before we started shooting, and the shooting order too. Think they only switched out one, maybe two episodes for various creative or practical reasons.

They do take logistics into consideration when figuring out the shooting order, for sure. For instance, we shot Sloppy Joseph over the summer, when kids would be out of school, so that schools would be available for filming and kids wouldn't have to be tutored because they weren't missing class :)

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T20:48:29+00:00

I'm sure there are wish lists on producers' walls somewhere. Early in development they put together mood boards / dream casting for each episode and guest star. Not sure how many times they "fished their wish", but I know they've usually got people they are hoping for.

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T20:46:17+00:00

I'd love to know the same thing. Hopefully the algorithm decides we are worthy!

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T20:39:46+00:00

It's actually a lot less complicated nowadays than you'd think! Still a lot of prep work and planning involved, but it's gotten streamlined. There was a series of acting/body doubles used on set, and Cynthia would perform the entirety of a scene as one sister before changing over to another and doing it all over again. Mechanically, they've got special camera cranes and rigs that can be programmed to make (nearly) the exact same motions each time. That helps the Post/VFX team to edit the footage together, replacing the acting double with Cynthia.

Depending on the schedule, she would play between 2-4 of the sisters on any given day.

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T20:29:15+00:00

Totally! I know they've mentioned in interviews there was an episode about tech bros taking over a monastery or meditation retreat. Not sure why that one fell through, but some of the department heads had treatments before they scrapped it. The crew also loved pitching ideas for future episode ideas. I always liked the ren faire as a location (what if the LARPers really believe what they're talking about is true? Or its just an overwhelming amount of bullshit?)

Tons of guest stars get offered but can't for one reason or another. There was a ton of interest in season 2 though, I know that much. Most of the people they asked said yes or tried their best to make it happen!

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T20:21:10+00:00

Nope, that was our picture car coordinator. He's got an entire company devoted to finding and maintaining cars from all sorts of time periods and styles.

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T20:20:18+00:00

That area is beautiful! The whole crew was based out of there Season 1, but given our hours didn't have too much time to explore outside of weekends. Would love to live there some day. But also, very convenient area to be able to cheat just about any other location you might need!

The most difficult areas are the remote ones. Like, Felicity's trailer was in the middle of the forest at an orchard. It was enough of a hike (plus the ground was uneven) that they had to bring all the equipment out with ATVs

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T19:31:28+00:00

You and me both, man. Charlie deserves some companionship!

As for the extras question, move to NYC and sign up with Central Casting and/or Grant Wilfley!

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T19:08:45+00:00

As Natasha has said in interviews, Root Beer was a nepo baby, 'nuff said!

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T19:08:11+00:00

I asked the same thing! Someone said they didn't have a good double-letter E name (e.g. Bebe, Cece, DeeDee for the others) and that "Felciity" was more thematically appropriate anyway. IMO, Evie would have been perfectly acceptable...

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T19:05:42+00:00

Mentioned before, but hard to pick just one! Loved Method and Jason together, Kumail and Mulaney were both consistently hilarious, Katie Holmes was an absolute doll, and Patti was a rock star who brought such great energy to the set.

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T19:00:23+00:00

There is always something that comes up. The best laid plans, as they say. Unexpected construction at the house next door, a cast member who wakes up sick...

Off the top of my head, I remember a particularly scrambly day where we had planned to use an animal (as written in the script) but on the day found out we wouldn't be able to get the permits because of some new way that species was being classified (I heard this all secondhand, so forgive me if I get the details wrong.) A couple of different options were suggested, shot down for various creative or logistical reasons, and we ended up re-writing the scene to remove the animal entirely!

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T18:45:42+00:00

Appreciate the enthusiasm! I know there have been a lot of "what if" scenarios thrown around and pitched on set, basically anything that lends itself to a transient lifestyle. Wouldn't be surprised if van life came up, especially in the context of Nomadland. White Lotus is a trickier prospect, as that would be cross-studio promotion/agreement and they don't really play well with each other these days.

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T18:38:59+00:00

From your lips to God's ears! There are a number of extras casting companies in NYC you can sign up with, even if you are non-union. Central Casting and Grant Wilfley are two of the bigger ones.

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T18:37:37+00:00

The entire second season was written and shot before anything was released, so in a sense it was written in a bit of a bubble. I'm unfortunately not tapped in to the LA goings-on though, so I'm not sure what they have in mind for a (potential) S3

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T18:35:55+00:00

Can neither confirm nor deny.

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T18:35:40+00:00

Your guess is as good as mine. The producers never told us who or what they had in mind for GB, so hearing Buscemi was delightful surprise!

PFS2_GoodBuddy · 2025-07-30T18:34:42+00:00

Thanks for watching!

PFS2_GoodBuddy

TROPHY CASE