For almost two decades, true crime fans have been fascinated by the fate of Kathleen Peterson, whose death was examined in a groundbreaking documentary titled The Staircase – and is now the subject of a star-studded drama series.
Peterson was found dead at the bottom of the stairs in her North Carolina home and the nature of her injuries prompted police to launch a murder investigation, with husband Michael as their prime suspect.
Pleading ‘not guilty’ to the charge and insisting Kathleen’s death had nothing to do with him, the ensuing trial is the subject of The Staircase, a documentary directed by filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade.
First aired on French broadcaster Canal+, the acclaimed factual series gained a much larger following after landing on Netflix in 2018 and has now inspired a brand new miniseries starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette.
The launch of The Staircase (2022) on HBO Max in the US and Sky Atlantic/NOW in the UK is sure to reignite interest in the documentary series that first brought the case to international attention.
Read on for all the details on how to watch.
How to watch The Staircase
The Staircase is currently available to stream in full on Netflix.
The series initially ran for 10 episodes, which were broadcast on BBC Four in the UK, before the streamer commissioned a further three episodes to cover updates in the case in 2018.
What is The Staircase about?
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Created by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, the mini-series follows the trial of North Carolina novelist Michael Peterson, who called police to his house after finding his wife dead at the bottom of the stairs in December 2001.
Peterson told the authorities that his wife had fallen while drunk but they did not believe his account, which led to his eventual trial on a murder charge.
Peterson, who insists that he is innocent to this day, was convicted of murdering Kathleen in 2001 and sentenced to life in prison. However, 14 years later, the charge was reduced to manslaughter and he was sentenced to time already served.
The documentary makers were able to secure remarkable access behind-the-scenes of the defence, including interviews with Peterson himself as well as his close family and lawyer David Rudolf.
Will there be another season of The Staircase?
That seems highly unlikely.
The show’s creator, de Lestrade, told Digital Spy in 2018: “Now, the judge has given the final answer, and nobody can come back to that. So that’s the end of the process for us, to shoot.
“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.
Is there a trailer for The Staircase?
Check out the trailer for Netflix’s The Staircase documentary below.
For comparison’s sake, you can also find the trailer for HBO Max’s The Staircase adaptation here.
The Staircase (documentary) is available to stream on Netflix. Meanwhile, The Staircase (2020) airs on Sky Atlantic and NOW on Thursday 5th May 2022 – sign up for Sky TV here.
Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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