Netflix Orders a Continuation of the 2004 True Crime Documentary ‘The Staircase’

Keeping up with their theme from creating content in interesting ways, Netflix has ordered a continuation of the 2004 true crime documentary series The Staircase.

The Staircase follows the trial of novelist Michael Peterson, who was convicted of murdering his wife, Kathleen Peterson.

Kathleen Peterson was found dead at the bottom of their home’s staircase, and the only other person in the house was Michael Peterson.

There was a long and drawn out trial, which even went as far as to go in-depth into his sexuality, that eventually found Michael Peterson guilty.

And The Staircase recorded it all.

Created by Oscar-winning documentarian Jean-Xavier de Lestrade (Death on a Sunday Morning), The Staircase won the Peabody Award in 2005 due to how thorough the documentary was. They had unprecedented access, even going as far as interviewing jurors.

In February over 15 years later, Michael Peterson pleaded guilty of involuntary manslaughter in a new trial that was finally granted in 2011.

And once again it was covered to the fullest.

With a surge in popularity in true crime documentaries, Netflix has decided it wants in on the action, adding this latest piece to an already stacked list of original documentaries, like Making a Murderer and The Keepers.

Before it arrives on Netflix, The Staircase will be played at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York on April 28.

It’s one of the pieces legendary actor Robert DeNiro said in a NYT interview that he’s most interested in seeing.

I saw some of these earlier episodes and thought they were great. The father seems like a nice guy. But with the whole thing, you just want to know what happened.

The Staircase will arrive on Netflix later this summer.

And with it will come closure for Michael Peterson and everyone who followed his path to some form of redemption.