The Staircase on ITVX: Controversial drama based on true crime which 'should never have been made' is free-to-air for the first time
Writer Michael Peterson gained fame for more than just his words...
The Staircase, a glossy dramatisation of a chilling true crime, will be free-to-air for the first time in the UK later this month when it lands on ITVX.
The eight-part series first landed in 2022 on HBO Max, with Now subscribers able to watch. But the Colin Firth and Toni Collette drama will now be arriving on ITVX on Saturday, July 25, 2026.
A synopsis for the series tells us: “A wife lies dead at the foot of a staircase. Did she fall or was she pushed? Colin Firth and Toni Collette head an all-star cast in this gripping true crime story.”
At the time of its release, the series quickly became must-watch viewing. “Did Michael Peterson kill his wife?” was the question on people’s lips. It was one of the first dramatisations of its kind. And while many were hooked by its grisly contents, others slammed the series for glamorising such a shocking true story.
Here’s what you need to know about The Staircase as it arrives on ITVX.
What is The Staircase on ITVX about?
The Staircase is based on the acclaimed docu-series of the same name that Netflix viewers went nuts for in 2004. The case was so compelling that is spawned two sequel series in 2013 and 2018 respectively.
It was ripe for a TV dramatisation, and HBO obliged. The series follows crime novelist Michael Peterson, who lived in North Carolina with his wife Kathleen Peterson and their children.
When Kathleen’s body was found at the bottom of a staircase in their home, a postmortem determined that Kathleen was beaten with a weapon. Police subsequently accused Michael of bludgeoning his wife to death and soon charged him with her murder.
The high-profile trial that followed hit the headlines, and made a ‘star’ of Michael Peterson – who always maintained his innocence. The novelist claimed his wife fell after consuming alcohol and Valium. But an autopsy concluded that Kathleen died from multiple injuries, including blows to the back of her head.
Peterson was eventually convicted of murdering his wife Kathleen in 2003 and sentenced to life in prison. However, a bloodstain analysis was subsequently revealed to be misleading. As a result, Michael submitted an Alford plea which reduced his charge to manslaughter and saw him released from prison in 2017.
The drama centres on his high-profile murder trial. It was nominated for multiple awards, including two Emmys.
Who’s in the cast of The Staircase?
Bridget Jones’ Diary actor Colin Firth stars as suspect Michael Peterson in the true crime drama The Staircase. Aussie actress Toni Collette – aka Muriel in Muriel’s Wedding – plays his wife Kathleen Peterson.
Juliette Binoche stars as Sophie Brunet, the editor of the documentary following the trial. She allegedly had a romantic relationship with Michael.
The White Lotus’ Patrick Schwarzenegger, son of Arnold, plays Michael’s son Todd Peterson. Meanwhile, Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner as Margaret Ratliff, opposite Black Rabbit’s Odessa Young as Martha Ratliff.
Parker Posey, also from the last series of The White Lotus, stars as Freda Black, one of the prosecutors in Peterson’s case.
Boardwalk Empire’s Michael Stuhlbarg portrays David Rudolf, while The Stranger’s Dane DeHaan plays Clayton Peterson.
How can I watch The Staircase?
The Staircase first aired on Now TV in the UK, and later was available to buy on Prime Video, and Apple TV. However, it is now arriving on ITVX, marking its free-to-air debut. The eight-part series will stream on ITVX from Saturday, July 25, 2026.
Meanwhile, the original documentary is available to watch on Netflix with a subscription.
Reviews of The Staircase on ITVX
While critics loved the series, some viewers found the series ethically uncomfortable.
The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan said: “Colin Firth and Toni Collette scale the heights in riveting true-crime tale. The notorious documentary series about the death of an author’s wife gets a star-packed fictionalisation that is practically fizzing with tension. All in all, a staircase well worth climbing.”
Nick Allen, on RobertEgert.com, said: “HBO’s The Staircase is a masterful, stark true crime epic. [Showrunner] Antonio Campos’ version of must-watch entertainment is about making us sit in the wreckage. And it is beautiful.”
Variety wrote: “The Staircase is a fascinating look at guilt, and innocence. This series is more concerned with asking questions than with making statements. It follows the evidence where it leads. What’s refreshing is that that evidence is less about guilt or innocence in a case on which the court has ruled, but about the strangeness and unknowability of the human heart.”
‘This feels all sorts of wrong’
However, some reviewers believed The Staircase should never have been made. EntertainmentDaily.com sided with several of Kathleen’s family members who did NOT want the true crime to be dramatised at all.
Their reviewer said: “The Staircase is a pimped up version of a very tragic real life crime, one which had already been examined in the Netflix series of the same name. Netflix’s true crime series is an excellent documentary following the trial, and interviewing the family – including Michael Peterson. If you want to know more about Kathleen’s death, this is where you should be looking.
“There’s something deeply unsettling about a megabucks TV channel trying to make more megabucks by profiting from someone else’s death. Kathleen Peterson died a tragic death in horrifying circumstances. And the man who was convicted of killing her is now getting more notoriety… Hasn’t anybody else been left with a bad taste in their mouth? It feels all sorts of wrong.
Is The Staircase on ITVX a true story?
While the HBO series The Staircase is based on a true crime, it has been accused of inaccuracies. In addition to a few significant omissions, the show made one major alteration.
In the show, the prosecution points out attorney David Rudolf during the grand jury hearing. However, Rudolf told the Charlotte Observer: “I was not in the grand jury, because defence lawyers are not allowed in a grand jury room.
“Anybody who knows anything about the criminal justice system will look at that scene and say ‘that’s bullshit’. So, that’s just stupidity.”
David, who served as Michael Peterson’s lawyer during his murder trial, has since accused the HBO series of “turning truth into fiction”.
He has called for “HBO to have the humility to apologise and post a disclaimer about the truthfulness of its portrayal of the people who made the documentary”.
Real life feud behind The Staircase HBO vs Netflix
French director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade made the true crime documentary The Staircase. Years later, he gave fellow director – and friend – Antonio Campos access to his archive of thousands of hours of footage of the Peterson case. He also sold him the story rights.
And that’s where it got nasty. The pair subsequently fell out, with Jean-Xavier de Lestrade and the documentary team taking serious issue with the HBO miniseries’ depiction of their work.
Jean-Xavier de Lestrade says that perhaps the biggest injustice in the dramatisation is the reimagining of the story as a family drama, where warring, angry children take centre stage. That is not how he remembers it.
“They were exceptionally close,” he said.
