The True Crime Story That Inspired HBO's The Staircase
Antonio Campos, director of the Netflix film The Devil All the Time, has created the latest true-crime story for HBO. The crime drama entitled The Staircase has an all-star cast that consists of Colin Firth, Toni Collette, Sophie Turner, Michael Stuhlbarg, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Olivia DeJonge, Dane DeHaan, Odessa Young, Rosemarie DeWitt, Maria Dizzia, Cullen Moss, and Parker Posey. The series follows the events of the Peterson family after Kathleen, the matriarch, was found dead at the bottom of the family’s staircase in 2001.
The HBO series focuses on the investigation and how it impacts the Peterson family. The Staircase also includes the filming of the documentary Soupçons (Suspicions), by French Academy-Award-winning filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade. Lestrade and his team followed Peterson, his family, and his defense team throughout the trial, including the trial itself, as well as the lengthy process full of appeals, dismissals, and misconduct. In 2018, Netflix made the documentary available under the title, The Staircase, including three new episodes of the case’s latest developments.
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On December 9, 2001, Michael Peterson called 911 and reported that he had found his wife Kathleen unconscious at the bottom of their staircase. Peterson would first report in the call that Kathleen was breathing, but after hanging up and calling back, he said that she had stopped. The personal lives of the Petersons would be uprooted and some driven from one another as the investigation began. As the only one home with Kathleen at the time of her death, as well as the one who discovered her body, Michael became a prime suspect
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