Watchlist Wednesday: The Staircase- The Fall Heard ‘Round the World
Few cases in true crime have stirred the pot like The Staircase. Was it a tragic accident? A brutal murder? Or a narrative twisted by both sides until no one could tell fact from fiction?
In 2001, novelist Michael Peterson called 911 to report his wife, Kathleen, had fallen down the stairs. What followed was a legal saga that unraveled layer by layer; accusations of murder, questions about Peterson’s private life, a suspicious death in his past, and a courtroom drama that played out over years.
The Staircase doesn’t just tell a story, it drags you straight into it. Filmed in real time with rare access to Peterson’s defense team, this docuseries changed how people saw true crime on screen. It blurred the lines between documentary and narrative, raising questions about bias, media influence, and how justice actually works.
So, let’s open the case file:
❓If you’ve watched it, what stood out to you?
❓Did your opinion shift over time?
❓Did the behind-the-scenes access feel transparent or manipulative?
❓And for those who haven’t seen it yet… do you think you’d trust a documentary that embeds itself this deeply with one side of a case?
This one isn’t just about what happened at the bottom of the staircase, it’s about everything that got dragged down with it.
