Happy Sunday, Streamers.
Before I share this week’s rec, I just want to take a moment to point out how mainstream true crime content has become. When I was younger, the type of story I’m pitching this week would either have been the subject of tabloid fodder, or a cheaply-produced reenactment you might watch on Discovery or A&E - not a prestige drama starring an Academy Award winner and The Terminator’s son. What’s changed? Are we more depraved? Or more desperate for content?
Probably both. Now let’s get to it.
The Staircase
What It’s About: This true crime drama tells the story of Michael Peterson, a crime novelist accused of killing his wife Kathleen after she is found dead at the bottom of a staircase in their home, and the 16-year judicial battle that followed.
Why You Should Watch: For a lot of “oh my god this actually happened?”, Toni Collette, and way more butt stuff than you would ever expect in this type of prestige true crime drama.
The Staircase falls into the same category as The Dropout for me. While it at first seemed like the type of shameless content play streaming services are over-producing (in which previously played out stories from an existing popular podcast or true crime doc are adapted into an unnecessary limited series with big name stars attached), I was pleasantly surprised with how good The Staircase turned out to be. I figured that Colin Firth and Toni Collette would be great as a loving (if very complicated) suburban couple (and they are), but the fun really comes from other areas.
The first is the supporting cast which is filled with a who’s who of oh-my-god-he/she-is-in-this-too-actors like Michael Stuhlbarg, Parker Posey, and Rosemarie Dewitt. Another is the smart storytelling and directing - Anthony Campos knows Toni Collette’s value and smartly makes sure to keep her around the entire season (even though she’s technically dead the whole time). Although the most fun part is revisiting all of the truly insane layers to this story you probably forgot about since the doc surged in popularity on Netflix in 2018. Such subplots include, but are not limited to, the bisexual relationships, the other notable staircase death, and of course, THE OWL. If you didn’t watch the doc and have no idea what any of that meant, definitely watch The Staircase - and even if you did but vaguely remember the details, then definitely watchThe Staircase.
Who’s In It, and Where You Probably Know Them From:
Colin Firth - You most likely know him from playing some kind of tortured man in love in films such as A Single Man, Bridget Jones Diary, The English Patient, Shakespeare in Love, Mamma Mia!, and of course, Love Actually. Then there is his starring role in The King’s Speech, which while a solid flick is now most famous for blatantly robbing The Social Network of all the awards it deserved at the 2011 Oscars.
Toni Collette - The Sixth Sense, Little Miss Sunshine, About A Boy, Knives Out, Nightmare Alley, and Hereditary - a movie/performance I will mention again is one I still think about sometimes at night as I fall asleep.
Michael Stuhlbarg - One of those character actors who has found a way to pop up in every prestige movie/tv show this past decade, he’s been in A Serious Man, Call Me By Your Name, The Shape of Water, Boardwalk Empire, Lincoln, Steve Jobs, Fargo, The Post, and most obscurely - Dr. Strange (even he is in the MCU).
Parker Posey - Best in Show, You’ve Got Mail, The Sweetest Thing, Josie and the Pussycats, and all kinds of bit parts in comedies and dramas over the years including her big break in Dazed and Confused (YOU LOVE US. SMILE. YOU LOVE US).
Sophie Turner - Game of Thrones, The X-Men franchise, being Mrs. Joe Jonas.
Dane DeHaan - Chronicle, The Amazing Spiderman, The Place Beyond the Pines, In Treatment, and the underrated ZeroZeroZero.
Rosemarie DeWitt - Rachel Getting Married, Mad Men, La La Land, Black Mirror, and Little Fires Everywhere.
Patrick Schwarzenegger - Outside of that last name, you might also know him from Grown Ups 2 (if you’re a certain age), modeling, or very publicly dating Miley Cyrus back in 2014 (and before that, allegedly Taylor Swift).
Who Made It, and What Else Have They Done:
Antonio Campos, who most notably wrote and directed Martha Marcy May Marlene, the cult indie film that gave Elizabeth Olsen her break pre-MCU (outside of, you know, being an Olsen sister).
Where You Can Watch: HBOMax