Colin Firth is set to star in a brand-new suspense-filled thriller that follows the saga of a murder trial.
The series follows the story of a family split apart by a mysterious death bought to you by HBO and Sky Atlantic.
A mini-series, it has been made by Antonio Campos Maggie Cohn - Campos is known for directing Devil All The Time, Afterschool and The Sinner.
Firth is set to star alongside Toni Collette, Rosemarie DeWitt and Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner.
The new show has been met with a lot of pleasing sounds from critics, positive reviews spilling out from various publications on both sides of the Atlantic.
What is The Staircase about?
The Staircase follows the plight of Michael Peterson, a writer who gets accused and convicted of the murder of his wife (played by Collette).
His wife, Kathleen Peterson, was found dead at the bottom of the staircase in their home.
The show is violent and brutal. In the second episode Kathleen, a North Carolina business exec, heads into her home after relaxing by the pool with Michael and makes her way up the stairs to bed.
Her flip flop catches and she slammed backwards into the wall. Hitting her head on it, she loses her balance.
Badly bleeding she tries to get up and call for help before eventually succumbing to her injuries and dying.
The scene is brutal, terrifying not only because everyone sprints up the stairs too quickly - especially after a drink - but also because we the audience have no idea whether it really happened.
The show from here then follows the developments of the legal case that falls upon Michael and the events surrounding it.
Is The Staircase based on a true story?
Yes, The Staircase is based on a true story. The Michael Peterson trial took place in the early 2000s and saw Peterson convicted in 2003 for murdering his second wife two years before in 2001.
But eight years later, following a ruling from the judge Peterson, a novelist, was given a new trial after it was decided that a witness vital to Peterson’s prosecution had given a testimony that was misleading.
Peterson submitted an unusual feature of US law called an Albert Plea, which is like a guilty plea but sees the defendant continue to deny that they are guilty of the crime.
However, they do admit that the evidence presented to the judge does indeed make it look like they are guilty beyond all reasonable doubt.
The only question left about the truth then, is which side of the story do you believe?
The Staircase begins on Sky Atlantic on May 5 2022.
