Mormon murder drama ‘Under the Banner of Heaven’ is riveting

Police responding to Michael Peterson‘s call that his wife had fallen down stairs encountered a truly gruesome scene when they arrived at the house.

Clayton Davis British star Daisy Edgar-Jones is showcasing a stellar year across television and movies. Best known for her breakout turn as Marianne Sheridan in Hulu’s “Normal People” (2020), the 23-year-old sensation has two potential Emmy vehicles.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe “Justified” revival at FX is filling out its main cast with the addition of eight new actors.Along with returning star Timothy Olyphant, the series will also star: Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard,” “When They See Us”), Boyd Holbrook (“Narcos,” “The Sandman”), Adelaide Clemens (“The Great Gatsby,” “Rectify”), Vondie Curtis Hall (“Harriet,” “The Night House”), Marin Ireland (“Y: The Last Man,” “The Umbrella Academy”), Norbert Leo Butz (“Bloodline,” “Fosse/Verdon”), Victor Williams (“The Good Lord Bird,” “The King of Queens”), and Vivian Olyphant.Olyphant will once again play the role of Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens.

Sky Atlantic's new drama, The Staircase is set to air this week. The eight-part series explores the life of novelist, Michael Peterson and the suspicious death of his wife, Kathleen whose body was discovered at the bottom of the stairs of the family mansion.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentFast-rising film production and investment company Logical Pictures has acquired The Jokers Films, a well-respected French distribution company boasting long-term bonds with Bong Joon-ho and Nicolas Winding Refn, among other filmmakers. Under the deal, The Jokers Films, which is presided over by Manuel Chiche, will be integrated within Logical Pictures.

In today’s episode of Bingeworthy, our revitalized TV and streaming podcast, co-hosts Mike DeAngelo and Rodrigo Perez dive into Hulu’s new mystery series, “Under the Banner of Heaven.” The show follows a devout Mormon detective Jeb Pyre (played by Andrew Garfield) whose faith is tested as he investigates a brutal murder seemingly connected to an esteemed Utah family’s spiral into LDS Mormon fundamentalism and their distrust in the government (read our review here).

Wilson Chapman editorIn the new FX on Hulu miniseries “Under the Banner of Heaven,” Daisy Edgar-Jones portrays Brenda Lafferty, a Mormon woman who was murdered with her baby by her religious extremist brother-in-laws. Edgar-Jones came to the project knowing “pretty much nothing” about the case and Mormonism overall.“I came to it really fresh,” she told Variety while promoting the series, which also stars Andrew Garfield as a Mormon detective investigating the killings.

This is a relatively spoiler-free of Under the Banner of Heaven, based on the first five episodes.You know her. She's softly backlit underneath a billowing white sheet.

“Under the Banner of Heaven” is the latest miniseries to explore the grizzly details of a real-life murder case, as television’s true-crime fascination continues to saturate Hollywood. Set in mid-1980s Salt Lake City, Utah, the story centers on devout detective Jeb Pyre (Andrew Garfield) as he unravels the mystery around the murder of a single mother, Brenda Wright Lafferty (Daisy Edgar-Jones), and her 15-month-old child.What begins as a horrifying tale in a mellow, religion-dominated suburb soon gives way to the dark underbelly of Latter-day Saints fundamentalism and violence, leading Pyre to question his own faith as he investigates the Lafferty family’s history. Below, TheWrap breaks down everything you need to know about the series prior to your viewing, including where and when to watch.The limited series, from Oscar-winning writer Dustin Lance Black (who was brought up in the Mormon faith), premiered exclusively on Hulu April 28, as part of FX’s lineup of original programming developed for the streaming platform.

Andrew Garfield may be taking a break from acting, but when he returns, he’ll be abiding by the same rule he has for every role he chooses.

Ripped from the headlines. Andrew Garfield is the latest star to get in the true crime game with his new series, Under the Banner of Heaven.

Andrew Garfield needs some time off.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorWelcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.”Andrew Garfield is ready to take a break. The actor has been going nonstop for the past year or so with “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” and “Tick, Tick … Boom!” Now, he can be seen in “Under the Banner of Heaven,” FX’s limited series adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s 2003 true-crime book of the same name.

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticIt’s all too easy to imagine a version of “Under the Banner of Heaven” that fails. In adapting Jon Krakauer’s 2003 book for the screen, Dustin Lance Black (“Milk”) had to delve into the horrific murder of a mother and child and untangle the clash between mainstream and fundamentalist Mormonism at its core.

A helicopter has been called in to join the search for missing Scot Shaun Banner, whose family say they are now in "stage of desperation".

FX/Hulu’s big play for Emmy glory in this incredibly crowded season is an adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s excellent 2003 book “Under the Banner of Heaven,” a historical analysis of the history of Mormonism in this country framed alongside a dissection of a brutal murder case from 1984 in the state of Utah. While the book had the context of the history of the origin of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints and how it got twisted into the mindset of the fundamentalist sect of Mormonism that pushed Ron and Dan Lafferty to commit brutal murder, the show feels at the beginning like it wants badly to be more “True Detective” and less Ken Burns, improving in the third and fourth episodes as it becomes more about a broken community than a specific murder.

The partner of missing man Shaun Banner says she is "sick with worry" after a family-organised search failed to turn up any news on his whereabouts.

“Shining Girls”Friday, April 29, Apple TV+“Shining Girls,” based on the novel by South African author Lauren Beukes, has an ingenious premise. Jamie Bell plays a time-traveling serial killer who targets special young women (the “shining girls” of the title).

When John Darwin walked into a police station claiming that he had amnesia after faking his own death, officers contacted his shocked family to tell them the baffling news.