In news that will thrill every person with a heart and a brain (but especially those of us who devote said hearts and brains to the keen consumption of true crime media), Our Toni (Collette) has signed on to play Michael Peterson‘s wife Kathleen in HBO’s forthcoming series The Staircase.
Based on the 2004/2018 docuseries of the same name, the eight-episode show will also star Colin Firth (!!!!) as Michael Peterson, the man who was accused of murdering his wife Kathleen in their North Carolina home. Peterson, who is a novelist, called authorities in December 2001 saying that Kathleen had fallen down the stairs in their house; police did not believe his version of events, instead alleging that Peterson bludgeoned Kathleen to death with a blow poke. Peterson ended up being tried for murder.
The story is simply full of twists and turns (an alarmingly similar death in Germany! Bisexuality! Small-town bigotry! Sprawling families! etc.) and I will leave it up to you to properly get into them on your own if you’re not already familiar with the whole sitch – suffice it to say that the original docuseries was a massive hit, and going off the two leads alone this HBO dramatisation is going to be OFF THE CHAIN.
Our Toni might be best known in my family for Muriel’s Wedding, but she’s known to Hollywood as the genius who made Hereditary so chilling, Little Miss Sunshine so affecting, and Knives Out so pitch-perfect absurd. I am simply frothing at the idea of seeing her get stuck in to the role of Kathleen Peterson.
The Staircase is written and executive produced by Antonio Campos and Maggie Cohn. No word yet on exactly when it’ll be out, but HBO Max acquired the series in March, so… soon?? I hope? We will keep you posted, true crime tragics!
