Media Release

HBO Max Orders THE STAIRCASE, A Limited Series Adaptation Of The True Crime Docuseries Directed By Antonio Campos With Academy And BAFTA Award®-Winner Colin Firth Starring As Michael Peterson

The Staircase

The Max Original Co-Produced By Annapurna Television Is Executive Produced By Antonio Campos And Maggie Cohn

  • HBO Max has ordered THE STAIRCASE, an eight-episode limited series starring Academy and BAFTA Award-Winner® Colin Firth as American novelist Michael Peterson. The Max Original is a co-production between HBO Max and Annapurna Television.
     
  • Antonio Campos will direct 6 of the 8 episodes.
     
  • Adapting the true crime docuseries “The Staircase” and various books and reports on the case, THE STAIRCASE is an exploration of the life of Michael Peterson, his sprawling North Carolina family, and the suspicious death of his wife, Kathleen Peterson.
     
  • Sarah Aubrey (Head of Original Content, HBO Max) quote: “It is a thrill to collaborate with Antonio Campos, Maggie Cohn and Annapurna Television for the exploration of this true-life story that’s rife with dramatic revelations. With the enormously talented Colin Firth at the center of this adaptation, the story of THE STAIRCASE will continue to captivate audiences with every bizarre twist and turn.” 
     
  • Firth is represented by Independent Talent (UK) and CAA (US). Campos is represented by WME, Management 360 and Nelson Davis. Cohn is represented by Management 360 and CAA.
     
  • Antonio Campos quote: “This has been a project I have been working on in one way or another since 2008. It’s been a long and winding road, but well worth the wait to be able to find partners like HBO Max, Annapurna, co-showrunner Maggie Cohn and the incredible Colin Firth to dramatize such a complex true-life story.”
     
  • Sue Naegle (Chief Content Officer, Annapurna) quote: “Annapurna couldn’t be more excited to partner with HBO Max, Antonio Campos, Maggie Cohn and Colin Firth on this unbelievable true-life saga. We were enthralled by the docuseries and know that this story will be just as fascinating as a limited series in the hands of Antonio and Maggie, with Colin at the center.” 
     
  • Credits: THE STAIRCASE is written and executive produced by showrunners Antonio Campos and Maggie Cohn. 

About HBO Max
HBO Max® is WarnerMedia’s direct-to-consumer offering, with 10,000 hours of curated premium content. HBO Max offers best in class quality entertainment, featuring the greatest array of storytelling for all audiences with the iconic brands of HBO, Warner Bros., DC, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies and much more. Most HBO subscribers in the U.S. have access to HBO Max as part of their HBO subscription and can visit HBOMax.com for more details.
 
About Annapurna 
Annapurna, founded by Megan Ellison over a decade ago, focuses on creating and acquiring high-quality original content appealing to audiences across film, television, interactive, and theater. In 2019, Annapurna partnered with MGM to establish the theatrical film marketing and distribution joint venture, United Artists Releasing.  Annapurna has garnered a total of 55 Academy Award® nominations, including five Best Picture nods for AMERICAN HUSTLE, HER, ZERO DARK THIRTY, PHANTOM THREAD, and VICE. The company will be releasing Jerrod Carmichael’s directorial debut feature ON THE COUNT OF THREE later this year, and next will begin production on LANDSCAPE WITH INVISIBLE HAND, written and directed by Cory Finley with Plan B and MGM producing and starring Tiffany Haddish.  Annapurna Television has several projects in production including PAM AND TOMMY, directed by Craig Gillespie, starring Seth Rogen, Sebastian Stan, and Lily James with Hulu, DEAD RINGERS with Amazon, I LOVE THIS FOR YOU with Showtime, and the limited series adaptation of Celeste Ng’s New York Times Bestselling debut novel, EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU, with Apple TV+.

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