Art imitates life and a true crime docuseries in The Staircase, the newest mystery to hit HBO Max. Based on the real events surrounding the death of Kathleen Peterson and the subsequent trial of her husband Michael Peterson who was charged in her murder, the miniseries quite successfully puts the events of the Netflix docuseries into narrative form.
And for an added layer of art-imitating-life meta-ness, the fictionalized version of these events focuses on the entry of said real-life documentary film crew into the Peterson family and its effects on their lives.
Halfway through its eight-episode run, the miniseries so far has not revealed any new information that those who have followed the case closely don’t already know. But with four episodes left, there’s still plenty of time to uncover some truths. Or at least heavily speculate on what may have actually occurred the night that Kathleen’s body was found at the bottom of the titular staircase of the family’s North Carolina home in 2001.
What Happened That Night?
In court, in the docuseries, and in the miniseries, Michael Peterson has always claimed that he discovered his wife Kathleen bloodied and crumpled at the bottom of the stairs late one December evening in 2001. In his account, she had been drinking earlier in the evening, and he chalked her death up to a drunken tumble down the stairs.
However, much of the forensic evidence found at the scene did not back up Peterson’s account. Experts stipulated that Kathleen’s head injury looked less consistent with a fall down the stairs and more consistent with some type of blunt force trauma. As they describe it, her head “looked like it had burst.”
Also, Peterson was covered in his wife’s blood, a fact he explained by stating that he cradled her body upon finding her. If true, it was a fateful decision that served to muddy up investigative efforts.
So what really happened to Kathleen? Or perhaps a better question, a question both the docuseries and miniseries explore: Is Michael Peterson the type of man capable of killing a woman he loves? A look to his past could shed some light on that.
History Repeats Itself
Adding to law enforcement’s skepticism about Peterson’s story was an incident from the man’s past. While married to his previous wife, the couple spent time in Germany. During that time, a close family friend also met an early demise in much the same way as Kathleen, complete with a head injury and a tumble down the stairs. Can the exact same bolt of lightning really strike one man twice?
While the first death was ruled accidental (though the determination was later changed upon exhumation of the body), Michael did gain something from the woman’s passing: her children. Michael adopted the woman’s two daughters, and though it’s not as powerful a motive as say an inheritance or a life-insurance policy, perhaps it was what motivated Peterson to commit murder (allegedly).
The Mystery of the Man and The Staircase
But that’s just it: It’s hard to say exactly what motivates Peterson. Both the real-life man and the character as portrayed by Colin Firth are complicated and somewhat inscrutable. He has secrets, for sure, some of which come to light over the course of his trial (prosecutors allege that Kathleen discovered his bisexuality which triggered a fight that ended with her bludgeoned at the bottom of the staircase).
But of course, filmmakers, viewers, and true crime fans are more concerned with the secrets that haven’t come to light, with whatever is bubbling beneath the facade of a man who seems unaffected by both his wife’s tragic death and his own prosecution for her murder.
As much as a deep-dive into the man at the center of the mystery as it is a deep-dive into the mystery itself, the miniseries is a compelling whodunit that tacks on the necessary queries of “why” and “how.” To explore this mystery man and those questions, the narrative jumps through time with the Peterson family.
Seamlessly transitioning from the day the docuseries premiered on Netflix to the moment Michael called 911 back in 2001 to the days leading up to Kathleen’s tragic end, the miniseries gives viewers a window into what life was like for the Peterson clan before, during, and after the fatal event that upended their lives.
The HBO series shows the couple prior to the incident with their adult children (including the two Michael adopted back in Germany and one of Kathleen’s from another relationship) meeting to celebrate a milestone. The future seems bright for this contented blended family, but this serenity stands in ominous contrast to the bloody mess that viewers know lurks just around the corner.
The tragedy of losing Kathleen (portrayed by Toni Collette) serves to bring the family together at first, but as police suspicions about Michael mount, the family begins to fracture. Family members begin to consider the possibility that Michael may not be the man they thought he was, may have never been that man. The unity dissipates, lines are drawn, and sides are taken.
Kathleen’s relatives fall staunchly in the “he did it” camp while some of the Peterson children desperately cling with blind faith to the only parent they have left. As Michael’s trial pits family against one another, new revelations are revealed left and right, at a pace so furious it’s easy to forget that even though there are Academy Award-winning actors onscreen, all of this drama played out in real life.
A Promising Beginning
By traveling with the Peterson family through time to explore the effects Kathleen’s death had, The Staircase miniseries offers up an intriguing narrative that will enthrall both true crime fans and novices alike.
The four episodes released so far offer a promising beginning for what would be in other circumstances a traditional “whodunit” that reveals all its secrets by the final scene. But these are not normal circumstances, and the real-life case offers no real answers that would tie a neat bow on the Kathleen Peterson case.
That then begs the question: Will audiences be satisfied with a finale that never truly illuminates what lies at the bottom of the staircase? It’s worth tuning in to find out.
The Staircase is now streaming on HBO Max with new episodes premerieng on Sunday nights. Jean-Xavier de Lestrade’s Peabody Award-winning documentary of the same name that covered the Peterson case from 2004-2018 is now streaming in its entirety on Netflix.
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