Colin Firth to headline HBO Max series 'The Staircase'

Its 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 dramatise such a complex true-life story, Campos said.The Staircase is a co-production between HBO Max and Annapurna Television.

Oscar winner Colin Firth will play the lead role in HBO Max's crime drama series ''The Staircase''.

In the limited series, Firth will essay the role of American novelist Michael Peterson, who was accused of murdering his wife, Kathleen, in 2001. He claimed she died after falling down the stairs at their home, but police suspected he bludgeoned her to death and staged the scene to look like an accident. The streamer has ordered eight episodes of the limited series, which is based on the docu-series of the same name and various books and reports on the Peterson case.

Antonia Campos of ''The Devil All the Time'' fame will direct six episodes of the series. The filmmaker will also serve as writer and showrunner along with Maggie Cohn, HBO Max said in a statement.

''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 dramatise such a complex true-life story,'' Campos said.

''The Staircase'' is a co-production between HBO Max and Annapurna Television.