Even if Netflix wasn’t in the process of buying Warner Bros., there sure are a lot of HBO Max originals on the streamer in December.
The latest addition is The Staircase, a true crime miniseries that debuted on HBO Max in 2022. Now, it’s primed for a much larger audience on Netflix.
To help you decide whether to add this to your watch list, the Watch With Us team is sharing the reasons to watch The Staircase on Netflix.
We think you’ll find it to be riveting viewing, especially since we’re deliberately not sharing any major spoilers about what happened.
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Is ‘The Staircase’ Based On a True Story?
Yes, but it’s more complex than just a standard true crime adaptation. The HBO Max miniseries was based on a French documentary called The Staircase, which was directed by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade. That documentary and this dramatization center on the death of Kathleen Peterson, whose body was found on December 9, 2001, in the Peterson family home in Durham, North Carolina.
Kathleen’s husband, Michael Peterson, discovered her body and summoned the police. However, the police didn’t believe that Kathleen had accidentally fallen down the stairs as her husband suggested. Instead, they suspected foul play and ultimately charged Michael with her murder. The documentary team, led by de Lestrade, embedded themselves with the Petersons as Michael went on trial for Kathleen’s death. As evidence emerged about his double life, Kathleen’s side of the family came to believe that Michael killed her.
The Miniseries Features an Impressive Cast
HBO Max didn’t skimp on the casting budget for this project. The Staircase has a feature film-worthy cast led by Colin Firth as Michael Peterson, Toni Collette as Kathleen Peterson, Juliette Binoche as Sophie Brunet, Parker Posey as Freda Black and Rosemarie DeWitt as Kathleen’s sister, Candace Hunt Zamperini.
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Game of Thrones‘ Sophie Turner, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Odessa Young, Dane DeHaan and Olivia DeJonge play the children of Michael and Kathleen, including their adoptive kids and children from their respective first marriages. Their characters ultimately take sides with either their father or with the prosecutors who believe that Michael murdered his wife. These young performers believably bring out that conflict even as it tears their blended family apart.
‘The Staircase’ Lets You Decide If Peterson Is Guilty or Not
If you’re hoping for a definitive answer about whether Michael murdered Kathleen, you won’t get it here. The Staircase does explore some theories about how Michael could have killed Kathleen, and why. Conversely, it also looks at what may have happened if she had died accidentally.
This show may be based on a true story, but there are elements of fictionalization that give the filmmakers some leeway. The courts have already ruled on whether Michael was guilty or innocent. Now, it’s time for the court of public opinion to weigh in, largely based on what viewers see in this miniseries. Ultimately, you are the judge of what really happened.
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The Original ‘Staircase’ Docuseries Is Also on Netflix
In a nice bit of symmetry, The Staircase‘s new streaming home is also where the original documentary has been available for years. That’s an unusual convergence, and it may have been one of the reasons why Netflix made the deal with HBO Max for this particular miniseries. If viewers choose to do so, they can now watch the miniseries and the documentary series back-to-back or side-by-side.
The two formats are inherently different, and the miniseries favors heightened dramatic scenes that may have happened, while the documentary is able to show viewers what its cameras captured. Watching the documentary isn’t necessarily required viewing, but it may offer some additional perspective on the case even after all of these years.
The Staircase is streaming on Netflix.
