Colin Firth's Series 'The Staircase' Left Critics Craving For More
Looks like HBO Max is very serious about building a great lineup of series and miniseries, with their latest TV show 'The Staircase' premiering to rave reviews from critics.
The 8-episode mini-series centers on disgraced writer Michael Peterson (Colin Firth ), who has been accused and found guilty of murdering his wife (Toni Collette) by pushing her down the stairs. The series was created, directed and written by Antonio Campos with Juliette Binoche, Dane DeHaan and Michael Stuhlbarg starring alongside Firth.
Currently ranking at 100% freshness from Rotten Tomatoes, the series was described by Consequence's Clint Worthington as "an indictment of the vagaries of the criminal justice system, the narcissism of abusive men, and most of all, through Collette, it gives Kathleen some much-needed humanity."
The series, as we know, is based on the long-running true-crime doc by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, and some critics have felt it their duty to compare two projects.
As Collider's Carly Lane put it, "even as close as the documentary came in its pursuit of real answers, The Staircase doesn't offer much clarity beyond that, with no obvious answer amidst a legion of inscrutable mysteries that may never be unraveled."
Tessa Smith of Mama's Geeky described 'The Staircase' as "an intriguing and captivating miniseries that dives deeper than the documentary did."
A lot of critics praised Firth's unusual performance; with TIME Magazine's Judy Berman finding show's success in "the linchpin of this delicate portrayal is Colin Firth's performance as Michael. Best known for playing romantic leads and other charismatic types, he disappears, here, into a far murkier character."
Prepare for some troubling family drama when 'The Staircase' arrives on HBO Max on May 5, 2022.