Maggie Cohn: Last News

The real-life Michael Peterson is not a fan of HBO Max’s The Staircase, which was adapted from the original docu-series into a televised series by Antonio Campos and Maggie Cohn.

EXCLUSIVE: Kristen Stewart will make her TV series-starring debut in The Challenger, a limited series in which she’ll play Sally Ride, the astronaut and physicist who became the first American woman to fly in space. She did this as part of a NASA space shuttle astronaut class of 1978 that was the first to be diversified and not comprised of all white men.  

Kristen Stewart has lined up what will be one of her first big television roles.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter HBO Max is developing a drama series based on the life of Heidi Fleiss, Variety has learned exclusively. The untitled series hails from writer and executive producer Maggie Cohn, who most recently served as the co-showrunner on HBO Max’s critically acclaimed limited series “The Staircase.” Fleiss will serve as a consultant on the project. Emma Tillinger Koskoff (“Joker,” The Irishman”) of First Love Films will also executive produce, along with Alex Goldstone (“Dickinson”) for Anonymous Content, Bill Gerber (“Muhammed Ali,” “A Star Is Born”) of Gerber Pictures, and David Bernon, Paul Bernon, and Sam Slater of Burn Later Productions (“Support the Girls,” “Mile 22,” “Drinking Buddies”).

The new trailer for Netflix’s action-packed “Lou” has been released.

Netflix has unveiled a trailer and first-look photos for its action-thriller Lou, starring Oscar winner Allison Janney (I, Tonya) and Emmy nominee Jurnee Smollett (Lovecraft Country), which is slated for release on September 23rd.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorWhat’s harder to work with when it comes to writing a limited series — true stories taken from real life, or the stuff of fiction? A panel of top writers debated the challenges of working with headline-driven and historical material during the final hour of Variety‘s Night in the Writers’ Room on June 9 at 1 Hotel in West Hollywood.“There’s a little bit of a tightrope-walk in a true story that you don’t necessarily have to walk in fiction,” said Dustin Lance Black, the writer-producer behind FX’s “Under the Banner of Heaven.” He noted that the series, about the 1984 murder of a woman and her infant daughter in Salt Lake City, deals with three intertwined stories, one of which is fictional. “That one to me, I had a slightly easier time with.

wcinkala pmc-editorial-managerVariety’s 11th annual “A Night in the Writers’ Room” returns on June 9, in-person and virtually, with a unique livestream experience moderated by Variety journalists. The event will feature three panels with this year’s Emmy-contending writers in the drama, comedy and limited series categories.

Katcy Stephan SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers through Episode 4 of “The Staircase,” which hit HBO Max on May 12.Despite her death being the catalyst for a highly publicized court case and miniseries, not much is publicly known about Kathleen Peterson’s life and personality. “The Staircase,” HBO Max’s true crime miniseries from Antonio Campos and Maggie Cohn, seeks to change that by fleshing out Kathleen as a human being. “I just love that the show on the whole is a more balanced view of their family,” Toni Collette, who plays Kathleen Peterson in the series, tells Variety.

The first three episodes of The Staircase are streaming now on HBO Max and fans have a lot of questions already.

Katcy Stephan Sophie Turner and Odessa Young took their roles as sisters on HBO Max’s “The Staircase” seriously. “I would feel anxiety if I wasn’t with her on set for a day,” Turner says of her co-star.

Michael Appler On Wednesday evening in New York City, Colin Firth and the cast of HBO’s “The Staircase” celebrated its premiere at the Museum of Modern Art.Created by Antonio Campos with showrunner Maggie Cohn, “The Staircase” marks HBO’s turn at the true crime story of Kathleen Peterson, who was found dead at the bottom of her staircase in 2001. The story of what followed and came before — her husband Michael Peterson’s indictment and trial, unearthed secrets, treatment by prosecutors and twisting family drama — was first the subject of a 2004 documentary miniseries, then republished and given new episodes by Netflix, and now fictionalized in HBO’s limited series led by Firth and Toni Collette. “I think about Truman Capote and ‘In Cold Blood,’ which was itself a first of its kind,” Parker Posey, who plays the prosecuting attorney Freda Black in the series, told Variety at the premiere.

, the captivating HBO Max true-crime series, explores the complicated lives of Michael Peterson, who is suspected of killing his wife, Kathleen, after she is found dead at the bottom of the stairs, and members of his large family, who are trying to cope with the unexpected death of their matriarch all the revelations that emerged in the investigation that followed. Inspired by the real-life story that was first captured in the Netflix docuseries of the same name and later lampooned in season 1 of NBC’s, the limited scripted series adapted by showrunners Maggie Cohn and creator Antonio Campos features an all-star cast, including Colin Firth as Michael and Toni Collette as Kathleen as well as Dane DeHaan, Odessa Young, Olivia DeJonge, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sophie Turner as their various kids. Additionally, Juliette Binoche, Michael Stuhlbarg, Parker Posey, Rosemarie DeWitt, Tim Guinee and Vincent Vermignon appear as extended family members and other people involved in the investigation. While Michael’s story may be familiar to some, especially given the attention that surrounded the many iterations of the docuseries and the scripted parody that followed, ET has put together a guide to the sprawling Peterson family, the various theories surrounding Kathleen’s death as well as the ins and outs of the HBO Max series. “While it feels like this story has kind of been told before, the reality is there's so much of the story that hasn’t been explored,” Campos said, with Firth adding that this version “messes with your expectations.” Michael’s immediate family is quite large – and quite layered – especially considering it’s a blended family made up of kids from previous marriages and the adoption of two daughters.

Wilson Chapman editor“The Staircase,” a new true-crime drama miniseries starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette, will premiere on May 5, HBO Max has announced.The series is based on the true story of Kathleen Peterson, who in 2001 was reported dead by her husband Michael after having fallen down the stairs of their home. Michael was soon charged with her murder, leading to a court case that drew headlines and revealed secrets about the couple’s relationship. The story received renewed interest in 2018, when Netflix released the documentary miniseries “The Staircase,” which covered the case from 2001 to 2017.In HBO Max’s series, Firth portrays Michael, while Collette plays Kathleen.

Oscar winner Colin Firth embraced Oscar nominee Toni Collette in front of a Christmas tree in the first image of HBO Max's eight-episode crime drama The Staircase, which premieres this spring.The 61-year-old Englishman portrays crime novelist Michael Peterson, who was convicted of murdering his second wife Kathleen and staging it to look like a fall down the stairs at their North Carolina home in 2001.In the second released image, the married couple sit at a dining table with their blended brood of five children (Olivia DeJonge, Dane DeHaan, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Odessa Young, and Sophie Turner). Premieres this spring! Oscar winner Colin Firth embraced Oscar nominee Toni Collette in front of a Christmas tree in the first image of HBO Max's eight-episode crime drama The Staircase $1.5M life insurance policy:The 61-year-old Englishman portrays crime novelist Michael Peterson (L), who was convicted of murdering his second wife Kathleen (R) and staging it to look like a fall down the stairs at their North Carolina home in 2001Kathleen had daughter Caitlin Atwater from her first marriage to Fred Atwater, while Michael had two sons Clayton and Todd as well as two adopted daughters Margaret and Martha.Antonio Campos and Maggie Cohn's limited series also features Rosemarie DeWitt, Juliette Binoche, and Parker Posey in the ensemble.'I didn't communicate with Michael Peterson,' Colin told Deadline on Tuesday during The Staircase's CTAM presentation.

Colin Firth is tackling a character far removed from the British gentlemen he’s played throughout much of his career in HBO Max’s The Staircase, premiering in the Spring.