Move over, Mr. Darcy — Colin Firth is now Michael Peterson. HBO Max released a pair of first-look images Tuesday for its upcoming drama series, “The Staircase,” a scripted adaptation of the Jean-Xavier de Lestrade true-crime documentary series of the same name.
Firth stars on the show as Michael Peterson, a North Carolina novelist who was convicted in 2003 of murdering his wife Kathleen. Michael Peterson spent eight years in prison. Toni Collette plays Peterson’s wife, Kathleen, on the HBO Max series.
The scripted show also stars Michael Stuhlbarg as Michael Peterson’s defense attorney David Rudolph; Patrick Schwarzenegger as Michael’s son Todd Peterson; Dane DeHaan as Michael’s other son Clayton Peterson; Olivia DeJonge as Caitlin Atwater, Kathleen’s biological daughter; Sophie Turner as Margaret Ratliff, one of Michael Peterson’s adopted daughters; Odessa Young as Martha Ratliff, Michael’s other adopted daughter; Rosemarie DeWitt as Kathleen’s sister Candace Zamperini; Tim Guinee as Michael’s brother Bill Peterson; Vincent Vermignon as Lestrade, the documentarian; and Parker Posey as prosecutor Freda Black. Juliette Binoche also stars in the series, but in an undisclosed role.
HBO Max’s “The Staircase” is written and executive produced by showrunners Antonio Campos and Maggie Cohn. Campos also directs six of the eight episodes. The limited series is co-produced by Annapurna Television.
De Lestrade’s hit docuseries “The Staircase” was first released in 2004 and featured interviews with Peterson’s family, attorneys, as well as courtroom footage. The series updated with new information in 2013 and again in 2018, when it was released as a Netflix documentary.
Peterson was granted a new trial in 2011, but before the second trial could start, he submitted to an Alford plea to the reduced charge of manslaughter. He was sentenced to time served and released.
See the photos below. HBO Max’s “The Staircase” is set to premiere in Spring 2022.
