The Staircase is a drama miniseries that originally aired on HBO, now HBO MAX. The miniseries was released in eight-hour-plus installments. The true crime/courtroom drama covers the mystery surrounding the December 2001 death of Kathleen Atwater Peterson (Toni Colette), the wife of former Marine and war novelist Michael Peterson (Colin Firth).
Kathleen died at the bottom of the household staircase, presumably from a fall. However, further investigation theorizes that the death may not have been accidental, and Peterson is put on trial for possibly murdering his wife. The miniseries was directed by Antonio Campos, who also wrote many of the episodes along with a small writing staff.
The miniseries covers three major sprawling narrative threads in a non-linear fashion: the events (or retellings of events) leading up to Kathleen’s death, the course of the initial trial, and the events around Peterson’s retrial and Alford plea hearing. The miniseries also includes following the story of the documentary crew following the trial, including the editor Sophie (Juliette Binoche) whom eventually becomes romantically involved with Michael. Throughout the series, Michael is often seen with glasses and either in pullover fleeces and khaki shorts, suits during his trial, or in prisoner’s outfits after his initial conviction. He is also notable for a halting, mumbling, and almost stammering form of speaking.
At the center of the story is Michael. At first, the depiction of his life and relationships is loving and contented, both with his wife and his children. Throughout the series, Michael often talks about Kathleen being his soulmate, his children talk about how loving they were with each other (including one kid saying he was kind of jealous of the sex life the two clearly had), and scenes of sex acts are depicted.
As the narrative and trial unfold, these ideas are both challenged and expanded upon. We learn that Michael is bisexual and insists that his wife is aware of his sexual orientation. His relationships with men, though he does not label them as affairs, often involve sexual encounters or attempts to meet sexual partners, including escorts or men he encountered in saunas while traveling. Michael describes these relationships as purely sexual, refraining from calling them dates or affairs. Both Michael, his children, and his defense team frequently use the term "bi" to describe his sexuality.
However, as the series progresses, it becomes evident that Michael's relationship with Kathleen and his children is often strained, marked by manipulation, lies, and verbal abuse from Michael. The idyllic image initially portrayed is shattered. In the final episode, Michael confesses that his wife was unaware of his bisexuality, contradicting much of his defense, which relied on the notion of mutual understanding between them. This revelation deals a significant blow to his case.
Though Campos did much press about The Staircase, one of his most telling comments about how Michael’s bisexuality played into the shaping of the story comes from a behind-the-scenes interview that aired just after the first episode on the Max network:
Michael grew up in a time where he couldn’t speak about his [bi]sexuality. And 2001 in Durham, North Carolina is not as progressive as we are today. And so the guy who had been living in Durham, North Carolina had been living very comfortably without having to tell anybody about his interest in men, was comfortable in not telling people, not talking to people about it.
One of the things we learned about Michael Peterson in our research is he never spoke about that side of him with his kids. Even after all the stuff that came out during the trial. It’s just not something that he wants to talk about. And it makes sense …. Because having the conversation can be really uncomfortable. It’s an extraordinary situation - he’s being accused of killing of his wife. He knows that anything that’s out of the ordinary by their standard is gonna make him suspicious.”
While Campos ultimately concluded in another interview that Peterson “feels like an enigma,” and The Staircase works to portray a complex, nuanced man at the center of a baffling death, it ultimately does not end up giving him a positive portrayal. We do see his bisexuality become a biphobic playing card in the death of Kathleen as wielded by the prosecution. But while we see Michael be charming and smart, we also see him lie, manipulate, dance around the truth, pit his own children against each other and mock them, try to give their custody away when they are troublesome as very young children, potentially have physically harmed them, and exploit everyone he loves around him in order to get what he wants or to walk away a free man.
Ultimately it is an absorbing tale, but not one that makes for a very positive example of male bisexuality in modern media.