Netflix Orders True Crime Docuseries 'The Staircase,' 'Evil Genius' - Variety

Netflix announced Wednesday that they have ordered the brand new true crime docuseries “Evil Genius: The True Story of America’s Most Diabolical Bank Heist” as well as new episodes of fellow true crime series “The Staircase.”

The first is titled “The Staircase,” which tells the true 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. Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade was granted access to the case immediately following Kathleen’s death in 2001 in Durham, North Carolina.

Three brand new episodes of “The Staircase” will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 28 before they launch on Netflix this summer alongside the original ten episodes. The series is produced by What’s Up Films, directed by de Lestrade, and produced by Matthieu Belghiti and Allyson Luchak.

“Evil Genius,” which will launch on May 11, is a four-part docuseries that tells the story of the case known as the “pizza bomber heist.” In 2003 in Erie, Pennsylvania, a robbery gone wrong and a public murder capture the nation’s attention, and a bizarre collection of Midwestern hoarders, outcasts, and lawbreakers play cat-and-mouse with the FBI. Eventually, a middle-aged mastermind named Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong — once a town beauty, now a woman grappling with mental illness — is arrested.

“Evil Genius” is written and directed by Barbara Schroeder. Trey Borzillieri is co-director and executive producer. Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass, Josh Braun and Dan Braun serve as executive producers.

The orders mark the latest true crime shows for Netflix, which previously aired critically-acclaimed shows like “Making a Murderer” and “The Keepers.” “Wild Wild Country,” a docuseries about a cult leader in rural Oregon, launched on March 16.

Let's block ads! (Why?)