Where To Watch 'The Staircase' Documentary and How Many Episodes Are There?

True-crime enthusiasts have been obsessing over HBO Max's The Staircase ever since it premiered in May 2022. The eight-part series brings to the small screen the true story of Michael Peterson, who was accused and found guilty of killing his wife, Kathleen Peterson after she was found dead at the bottom of their staircase on December 9, 2001.

After eight years in prison, Michael Peterson was released in 2011 pending a retrial. In 2017, he entered an Alford plea and was released. As part of the plea, he maintained his innocence but admitted the evidence against him would likely result in a guilty verdict.

Across the eight episodes of The Staircase on HBO Max, Michael Peterson is followed by a documentary crew, led by Oscar-winning director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade who are making a documentary on his legal battle, titled The Staircase.

Filming for The Staircase documentary really did happen in real life and the finished product exists today.

Newsweek has everything you need to know about the original The Staircase documentary including where to watch and how many episodes.

Where To Watch 'The Staircase' Documentary?

The entire The Staircase documentary is available to stream exclusively on Netflix now.

To watch The Staircase, you must be a Netflix customer. You can subscribe to the streaming platform now for $8.99 per month.

The real Jean-Xavier de Lestrade began following Michael Peterson in the aftermath of his wife's death and during his trial between 2001 and 2003.

Peterson's family and children appeared throughout the documentary and de Lestrade also had access to the courtroom and defense attorneys.

The synopsis for the Netflix documentary teases: "The Staircase is the compelling story of Michael Peterson, a crime novelist accused of killing his wife Kathleen after she is found dead at the bottom of a staircase in their home, and the 16-year judicial battle that followed."

It was via de Lestrade's coverage for his documentary that brought Peterson's case to worldwide attention, leading audiences to question if Michael Peterson did kill Kathleen Peterson or not, with the debate still ongoing today among true-crime enthusiasts.

How Many Episodes Are in 'The Staircase' Documentary?

There are 13 episodes in total of The Staircase documentary, which were filmed in the span of 15 years.

The first installment of the documentary was completed in September 2004 and premiered in October 2004 on Canal+, in January 2005 on BBC Four, and in April 2005 on the Sundance Channel.

When the first batch of episodes was released in 2004, it brought Michael Peterson's case to international attention.

On December 16, 2011, Peterson was released from prison on $300,000 bail and placed under house arrest with a tracker attached to his ankle. His release came after Judge Hudson agreed to a new trial as SBI (North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation) analyst Duane Deaver was found to have given "materially misleading" and "deliberately false" testimony regarding the bloodstain evidence in Peterson's case.

Hudson also found he had exaggerated his professional experience, reported The News and Observer. He had been one of the principal witnesses against Peterson at his first trial.

De Lestrade returned to film Peterson and his family in 2012 and 2013. He shortly released a two-hour special, following Peterson's release on bail.

Between 2013 and 2017, de Lestrade continued to visit the Peterson family and film them, providing updates on the case, including Peterson's Alford plea and release from custody in February 2017.

Three new episodes were made for Netflix and in 2018, Netflix released all 13 episodes from de Lestrade's The Staircase series onto their streaming platform as one season.

Since then, The Staircase has remained a true-crime staple and can often be spotted in and out of the Netflix Top 10. There have also been several podcast episodes covering the case and the documentary's content inspired much of The Staircase series on HBO Max.

Newsweek has the full list of episodes and their running times below:

• Episode 1: "Crime or Accident?" — 47:00
• Episode 2: "Secrets and Lies" — 46:00
• Episode 3: "A Striking Coincidence" — 46:00
• Episode 4: "A Prosecution Trickery" — 44:00
• Episode 5: "A Weak Case" — 47:00
• Episode 6: "The Prosecutions Revenge" — 47:00
• Episode 7: "The Blow Poke Returns" — 50:00
• Episode 8: "The Verdict" — 50:00
• Episode 9: "Reopening the Case" — 55:00
• Episode 10: "The Last Chance" — 52:00
• Episode 11: "Looking for Closure" — 52:00
• Episode 12 "Between Anger and Despair" — 46:00
• Episode 13: "Flawed Justice" — 46:00

The Staircase is streaming on Netflix now.