‘The Staircase’ Trailer: Colin Firth & Toni Collette Star In A True Crime Mini-Series From Director Antonio Campos

Before the popularity of true crime exploded, the 2004 French docuseries “The Staircase” was one of the genre’s crown jewels. Jean-Xavier de Lastrade’s non-fiction chronicle of the mystery surrounding the 2001 death of Kathleen Peterson won a Peabody Award in 2005, anticipating the success of podcasts like “Serial” and docuseries like “The Jinx.” Now, the infamous story is coming to HBO Max in a new scripted adaptation from writer/director Antonio Campos (“The Devil All the Time”).

Also titled “The Staircase,” the show will star Colin Firth as writer Michael Peterson, who was eventually convicted of murdering his wife. Kathleen will be portrayed by Toni Collette, a veteran actress of agonized domestic roles. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Colette talked about the challenge of bringing to life a figure most famous for her death: “I just want her to be seen for all she was, as a person, prior to when she left her body.” 

The series’ ambitious structure will tell the story in three separate timelines: 1) the days leading up to Kathleen’s death, 2) the immediate aftermath, including Michael’s murder trial, and 3) the present day, after his release from prison. Campos, who co-created the series with “American Crime Story” alum Maggie Cohn, spent years immersed in the Peterson case after seeing the original miniseries, even attending Michael’s hearings when he was granted a new trial in 2013. “I felt like I knew everything about this guy by the end, because everything had come out about him,” Campos explained to Vanity Fair. “But at the same time, I still didn’t know who he was.” 

The star-studded supporting cast includes Rosemarie DeWitt (“Rachel Getting Married”), Parker Posey (“Dazed and Confused”), Sophie Turner (“Game of Thrones”), and Oscar winner Juliette Binoche (“The English Patient”). Episodes were directed by Campos and “Fear Street Trilogy” director Leigh Janiak.

The first three episodes of “The Staircase” will be available through HBO Max on May 5.