The Staircase is a dramatisation of a documentary series of the same name, in which we see

Callum Berry.

Mild Spoilers.

Colin Firth stepping up to take on the roll of Michael Peterson, a man accused and convicted of slaying his wife; Kathleen Peterson, played by the brooding Toni Collette.

The series, with a great ensemble cast, is eight episodes long, which are told in a non-linear fashion which sees us seeing events from both Michael, Kathleen and their childrens perspectives.

The real story is strange enough, with multiple theories of how Kathleen may have died, and evidence having to be reviewed and in some cases thrown out due to perjury.

It’s difficult to review works like The Staircase because this show itself is a ‘fictionalised’ account of real trauma experienced by real people — a real woman died, a man was in prison for years, and yet, I was ‘entertained’ by it, and I found sympathy in every corner and understanding in every perspective.

The writer’s take no definitive stance on the guilt or innocence or Michael Peterson, and that’s obviously the point. Peterson takes advantage of the Alford plea, maintaining his innocence while admitting that there is enough evidence that a jury could find him guilty in a court of law.

This isn’t a full spoiler review, so I’ll be as vague as possible, but every major character has a glaring character flaw that I found interesting, with Michael’s being the most interesting and scandalous, and I feel like leaning into the ‘character drama’ side of the story makes the series work really well.

The cinematography and editing are really good, with the episodes all feeling consistent and high-quality (thank you, HBO!), the performances are great and the screenplay for most of the episodes feel authentic and don’t pander to any one viewpoint.

If you’re a fan of ‘true crime’, non-fiction, or dramas I would get around this one.

8/10.