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Colin Firth becomes a murderer in first look at HBO Max's The Staircase

The Oscar winner transforms into Michael Peterson, the novelist who was convicted of murdering his wife in 2003 but later granted a new trial.

By

Nick Romano

and

Andrea Towers

Published on February 15, 2022 03:06PM EST

The first images from HBO Max's true-crime drama The Staircase have arrived, giving the world a glimpse of Colin Firth and Toni Collette as Michael and Kathleen Peterson.

As chronicled in the genre-defining docuseries of the same name, The Staircase will dramatize the darkly fascinating story of how Michael, a novelist in Durham, N.C., was accused of murdering his wife after she was found dead in a pool of blood at the bottom of a set of stairs in their home.

Michael was convicted of killing Kathleen in 2003, but the story didn't end there. In 2017, he was freed after submitting an Alford plea to the reduced charge of manslaughter.

In addition to Firth and Collette, the eight-episode limited series boasts a star-studded cast including Michael Stuhlbarg, Juliette Binoche, Dane DeHaan, Olivia DeJonge, Rosemarie DeWitt, Tim Guinee, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sophie Turner, Vincent Vermignon, Odessa Young, and Parker Posey.

Colin Firth and his family in the HBO Max series 'The Staircase'. HBO Max

Colin Firth and Toni Collette in 'The Staircase'. HBO Max

The new Staircase is written and executive-produced by showrunners Antonio Campos and Maggie Cohn, and set to debut in the spring.

The Staircase docuseries first aired on the Sundance Channel in 2005, bringing increased attention to the case and spawning all manner of theories regarding Kathleen's death. French filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade shot additional material in 2012 and 2013, and three new episodes were made for Netflix, where the docuseries is available to stream in full.

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Colin Firth becomes a murderer in first look at HBO Max's The Staircase

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