Tonight (5 May), one of the most popular true crime documentaries on Netflix is being transformed into a Sky TV series starring Colin Firth. Watch the trailer below:
That's right, The Staircase revisits the mysterious death of Kathleen Peterson, with Academy Award winner Colin Firth at the helm as Kathleen's husband Michael.
The eight-episode limited series is co-directed by Antonio Campos and Leigh Janiak and is set to explore the story that captured the attention of Netflix viewers across the globe.
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The original documentary series, directed by director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, was released in 2004 before being picked up and re-released by Netflix, with the final episode airing in 2018.
Following the Peterson family, the documentary centres on the 2001 death of Kathleen Peterson found at the bottom of her staircase by her husband Michael.
She reportedly suffered a fractured thyroid cartilage and multiple lacerations at the top and back of her head and died of blood loss.
Many theories about Kathleen's death arose throughout the series, with James Hardin Jr., the Durham County district attorney, suggesting that Michael had beaten his wife to death with a blow poke.
Michael would subsequently be charged with the murder of his wife and sentenced to life in prison.
However, Peterson would be released in 2017, due to time served on a reduced charge of manslaughter, after it emerged that an investigation analyst had misled jurors about the strength of bloodstain evidence in relation to the blow poke theory.
David Rudolf, Michael's defence lawyer, told LADbible following his release: "Michael's living in Durham, which is not where I would be but it's where he's chosen to be, and living a very mundane sort of life, but one that's a lot more preferable to the prison he was in.
"So he just goes to the grocery store, goes to the gym, and visits his grandchildren. All the things that most 75 year olds might do."
Other theories have since emerged from the case, one of which was the 'Owl Theory', which was presented by lawyer Larry Pollard, the Petersons' next-door neighbour.
Although this theory seemed strange at first, Kathleen was found with microscopic feathers on her body and hair ripped from the roots.
Pollard suggested that Kathleen had been attacked outside by an escaped owl and as she fled inside slipped and fell backward on the staircase.
De Lestrade, director of the Netflix doc, said he eventually came around to the theory, saying in a statement to Vulture: "How can you explain all the cuts and lacerations and the absence of fractures?
"When you start thinking about the owl theory, and the kind of injuries she had, you start thinking maybe there is something there."
The Staircase airs tonight at 9pm on Sky Atlantic. It will also be available to stream on NOW.
Topics: TV and Film, Celebrity, Netflix
Shola Lee