Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

The Staircase: Netflix true crime series getting huge Making a Murderer comparisons

The story follows a crime novelist accused of killing his wife in 2001

Jacob Stolworthy
Wednesday 18 April 2018 15:19 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Netflix has announced a brand new series that looks set to follow in the footsteps of Making a Murderer as a true-crime phenomenon.

Titled The Staircase, the series tells the story of Michael Peterson, a crime novelist who was accused of killing his wife Kathleen after she's found dead at the bottom of a staircase in their home in 2001, and the 16-year court battle that followed.

The streaming service will show the original docuseries which aired back in 2004 as well as three follow-up episodes directed by documentary filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade - Oscar-winning director of Murder on a Sunday Morning - who was granted immediate access to the North Carolina case.

Following Peterson from arrest to verdict, much like Making a Murderer did with the cases of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey, The Staircase has been described as “a gripping real-life courtroom thriller” and will no doubt take over viewers' television sets when it's launched this summer.

Netflix's most recent true crime series arrived in the form of The Keepers which focused on the unsolved murder of Sister Cathy Cesnik.

In regards to Making a Murderer, a rival series is in development that will show the other side of Avery's case and is said to feature 'unprecedented access' to law enforcement figures such as District Attorney Ken Kratz.

The Staircase was announced at Netflix's showcase in Rome where it also unveiled a new season of GLOW and cast additions to the third season of Stranger Things.

Follow Independent Culture on Facebook

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in