The Staircase (miniseries)

The Staircase is an upcoming American true crime drama streaming television miniseries created and written by Antonio Campos and Maggie Cohn, based on the 2004 true crime docuseries of the same name created by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade. The series stars Colin Firth as Michael Peterson, a writer convicted of murdering his wife Kathleen Peterson (Toni Collette), who was found dead at the bottom of the staircase in their home. The series is set to premiere on HBO Max on May 5, 2022.[1]

This article is about the fictional miniseries based on the Peterson case. For the documentary series, see The Staircase (documentary). For other uses of “staircase”, see Staircase (disambiguation).
The Staircase
Genre
Created by
Based onThe Staircase
by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade
Developed byAntonio Campos
Starring
ComposersDanny Bensi
Saunder Jurriaans
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
  • Antonio Campos
  • Maggie Cohn
Production companyAnnapurna Television
DistributorWarnerMedia Direct
Release
Original networkHBO Max

Premise

Michael Peterson, a crime novelist, is accused of bludgeoning his wife Kathleen to death after she is found dead at the bottom of a staircase in their home.

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring
  • Cory Scott Allen as Art Holland
  • Justice Leak as Tom Maher
  • Ryan Lewis as Bruce Campbell
  • Joel McKinnon Miller as Larry Pollard
  • Trini Alvarado as Patricia Sue Peterson
  • Cullen Moss as Jim Hardin
  • Daniela Lee as Devon
  • Teri Wyble as Sonya Pfeiffer
  • Susan Pourfar as Dr. Deborah Radisch
  • Jason Davis as Fred Atwater
  • Frank Feys as Denis Poncet
  • Jean-Luc McMurtry as Gaultier

Production

Development

The series is a passion project for Antonio Campos, who began developing a scripted adaptation of the true crime docuseries The Staircase in 2008.[2] On November 21, 2019, it was announced that Annapurna Television had officially put the project into development and was shopping the project to premium networks and streaming services. Campos was attached to write the series, as well as executive produce alongside Harrison Ford.[3] On September 22, 2020, during an interview about his new film The Devil All the Time with Rian Johnson for Interview Magazine, Campos revealed that HBO Max had landed the project for development.[4] On March 31, 2021, it was announced that HBO Max had given the project a limited series order consisting of 8 episodes, with Campos set as showrunner and director of 6 of the episodes and American Crime Story's Maggie Cohn joining as writer, executive producer, and co-showrunner. In addition, Ford was no longer attached as executive producer.[2] Upon the series order announcement, Campos said:

This has been a project I have been working on in one way or another since 2008. It's been a long and winding road, but well worth the wait to be able to find partners like HBO Max, Annapurna, co-showrunner Maggie Cohn and the incredible Colin Firth to dramatize such a complex true-life story.

On July 19, 2021, it was announced that Leigh Janiak is set to direct two episodes of the series.[5]

Casting

Harrison Ford was initially set to star in the lead role of Michael Peterson before being replaced by Colin Firth in March 2021.[3][2] The following month, Toni Collette joined the cast in a lead role.[6] Rosemarie DeWitt, Juliette Binoche, and Parker Posey were added to the main cast in May 2021,[7][8][9] with Sophie Turner, Odessa Young, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Dane DeHaan, Olivia DeJonge, and Michael Stuhlbarg joining the next month.[10][11][12][13][14][15] In July 2021, Tim Guinee and Vincent Vermignon joined the cast of the series.[16][17] In August 2021, Justice Leak was cast in a recurring role.[18]

Filming

Principal photography for the series began on June 7, 2021, in Atlanta, Georgia, and was scheduled to conclude in November 2021.[19][20]

Reception

The series has received critical acclaim. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 91% approval rating with an average rating of 7.8/10, based on 11 critic reviews.[21] Meanwhile, Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 85 out of 100 based on 6 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[22]

References
  1. Chapman, Wilson (March 29, 2022). "HBO Max's 'The Staircase,' Starring Colin Firth as Michael Peterson, Reveals First Teaser and May Premiere Date". Variety. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  2. White, Peter (March 31, 2021). "'The Staircase': Colin Firth To Star In TV Drama Adaptation Of Classic True Crime Documentary For HBO Max From Antonio Campos & Maggie Cohn". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 7, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  3. Otterson, Joe (November 21, 2019). "Harrison Ford to Star in 'The Staircase' Series Adaptation for Annapurna TV (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on March 31, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  4. Johnson, Rian (September 22, 2020). "Antonio Campos Tells Rian Johnson About Making The Devil All the Time". Interview. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  5. Petski, Denise (July 19, 2021). "Leigh Janiak To Direct Two Episodes Of HBO Max's True-Crime Series 'The Staircase'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 19, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  6. Petski, Denise (April 29, 2021). "Toni Collette To Play Kathleen Peterson In 'The Staircase' Limited Series For HBO Max". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  7. Petski, Denise (May 4, 2021). "Rosemarie DeWitt Joins Toni Collette & Colin Firth In Michael Peterson Limited Series 'The Staircase' At HBO Max". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 4, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  8. Petski, Denise (May 20, 2021). "Juliette Binoche Joins Michael Peterson Limited Series 'The Staircase' At HBO Max". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 21, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  9. Petski, Denise (May 26, 2021). "Parker Posey Joins Michael Peterson Limited Series 'The Staircase' At HBO Max". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 1, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  10. White, Peter (June 1, 2021). "Sophie Turner Joins HBO Max's True-Crime Series 'The Staircase'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 1, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  11. Petski, Denise (June 7, 2021). "Odessa Young Joins HBO Max's True-Crime Series 'The Staircase'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 7, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  12. Andreeva, Nellie (June 10, 2021). "Patrick Schwarzenegger Joins 'The Staircase' True-Crime Series On HBO Max". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  13. Petski, Denise (June 15, 2021). "Dane DeHaan Joins HBO Max's True-Crime Series 'The Staircase'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 15, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  14. Pedersen, Erik (June 25, 2021). "Olivia DeJonge Joins HBO Max's True-Crime Series 'The Staircase'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 26, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  15. Petski, Denise (June 30, 2021). "Michael Stuhlbarg Joins HBO Max's True-Crime Series 'The Staircase'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 30, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  16. Andreeva, Nellie (July 1, 2021). "Tim Guinee Joins HBO Max's True-Crime Series 'The Staircase'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  17. Petski, Denise (July 9, 2021). "Vincent Vermignon Joins HBO Max's True-Crime Series 'The Staircase'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  18. Petski, Denise (August 5, 2021). "'The Staircase': Justice Leak Joins HBO Max's True-Crime Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  19. "The Staircase". Production List. May 3, 2021. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  20. "Casting Call for HBO Max". Oz Magazine. May 11, 2021. Archived from the original on June 7, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  21. "The Staircase: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  22. "The Staircase: Season 1". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
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