Netflix/PAHarrison Ford is set to play another man accused of killing his wife – only this time, it’s in a dramatisation of Netflix’s hit crime docuseries, The Staircase.
It would be the Oscar-nominee’s first regular television role, after some early credits at the start of his illustrious career before he ascended to super-stardom with Star Wars and Indiana Jones.
From Making A Murderer to Abducted In Plain Sight, Netflix has had no shortage of gripping docs – however, The Staircase is one of the grisliest on offer.
NetflixThe original docuseries was released back in 2004, but the show’s creator Jean-Xavier de Lestrade added extra information more than a decade later, with the streaming platform releasing it Netflix released it as a 13-episode series in 2018.
It follows the case of Michael Peterson, an American novelist accused of murdering his wife in 2001.
Giving the series its mysterious title, Peterson alleged that his wife died after falling down the stairs. However, the police suspected he bludgeoned her to death and staged the incident to look more like an accident.
GettyAccording to Variety‘s sources, Ford is attached to be an executive producer on the show, as well as starring (the role isn’t known at the moment, but one would imagine it’d be Peterson).
Antonio Campos – who worked on The Sinner and The Punisher – will reportedly write and executive produce, with Annapurna Television producing.
The subject matter isn’t completely alien to Ford. He previously played a man (falsely) accused of murdering his wife in 1993’s thriller The Fugitive – however, one would imagine the dramatisation of The Staircase would be more sombre in tone.
NetflixThe heartbreaking story of Peterson’s wife, Kathleen, kept viewers on the edge of their seats when the docuseries dropped on Netflix. However, don’t expect any more follow-ups: Lestrade ruled out more filming after Peterson won his freedom with the ‘Alford plea’.
Lestrade told Digital Spy:
That’s the end of the process for us. Sometimes I wish that some other step could be introduced in the court room that we could shoot. But it was not. So yes, it’s finished.
Critics called The Staircase a ‘gripping, detailed depiction of the complex justice system’, with RogerEbert.com’s Brian Tallerico writing: ‘It’s a must-watch for anyone interested in true crime shows as it’s not only a fascinating case on its own but really the template for so much that’s on television and streaming services today.’
There are no further details on the dramatisation of The Staircase at the time of writing.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.