BUZZ! TRIAL & ERROR
THE SHOCKING STORY OF A SUSPICIOUS DEATH IS RETOLD VIA THIS DRAMATIC ADAPTATION…
THE STAIRCASE | Sky Atlantic
Colin Firth and Toni Collette star in an enthralling eight-part series, a true crime drama sparked by the mystifying demise of businesswoman and philanthropist Kathleen Peterson…
This series is new, you say? The title sounds familiar… Well, it likely rings a bell since The Staircase was also the name of the 2018 Netflix documentary series shadowing the trial of crime writer Michael Peterson, accused of killing his wife, Kathleen. This is a drama adaptation of the same case.
What happened?
Michael called police to report that he’d found Kathleen lying unconscious at the bottom of a flight of stairs at their North
Carolina mansion in December 2001. His subsequent claims that she had tumbled to her death while under the influence were rapidly disclaimed – and Michael was soon charged with Kathleen’s murder, the legal consequences of which rumbled on for many years.
And the lovely Colin Firth is playing Michael? Correct – Oscar-winner Colin stars alongside the equally esteemed Toni Collette, playing Kathleen.
Who else is involved in the series?
Game Of Thrones’ Sophie Turner plays Margaret Ratliff, one of Peterson’s adopted daughters – with stars including Juliette Binoche and Parker
Posey also appearing amid an extensive cast.
So, did Michael do it?
For those not already au fait with the trial – documented in complex detail after Michael allowed a film crew to follow him and his family while Kathleen’s death was investigated, even as he was accused of her murder – we’ll not reveal the verdict. But the turn of events is chillingly fascinating, to be sure…