Hollywood just can’t seem to get enough of the Michael Peterson ‘Staircase’ story

The story of the tragic death of Kathleen Peterson and the murder trial of her husband, Michael, gained global attention in 2018 when Jean-Xavier de Lestrade’s “The Staircase” documentary series debuted on Netflix.

But the 13-episode series isn’t the only work out there on Durham’s Peterson saga. The case has been the subject of numerous true-crime TV shows, books and podcasts.

And now, Variety reports that movie star Harrison Ford is set to play Mike Peterson in an upcoming TV series, directed by Antonio Campos.

Here are just a few examples of projects focused on the Peterson case:

▪ True-crime writer Diane Fanning’s 2005 book on the case, “Written In Blood,” is subtitled “The True Story of Murder and a 16-Year-Old Secret That Tore a Family Apart.”

▪ The original “Staircase” documentary series was released in England on BBC in January 2005 and aired exclusively in the U.S. on the Sundance Channel in April of that year. It won a Peabody Award and was released on DVD.

▪ A 2006 episode of the Headline News series “Forensic Files” focused on the Peterson case. The episode was called “A Novel Idea.”

▪ In 2007, a Lifetime movie called “The Staircase Murders” starred Treat Williams as Michael Peterson and Kevin Pollak as Peterson’s attorney, David Rudolf.

▪ Aphrodite Jones’ book on the case, “A Perfect Husband,” was released in 2013.

▪ Also in 2013, Jean-Xavier de Lestrade released two more episodes of “The Staircase” updating developments in Peterson’s case. These episodes aired on Sundance.

▪ The premiere episode (“Animal Instincts”) of the acclaimed Criminal podcast in 2014 was devoted to The Owl Theory and included an interview with Peterson’s neighbor, Larry Pollard. (An owl attack was one of the more unusual theories floated as a possibility for Kathleen Peterson’s death.)

▪ The French documentary “The Staircase” was the inspiration for the first season of the NBC sitcom “Trial & Error,” which aired in March 2017. In that show, a poetry professor (John Lithgow) goes on trial for the murder of his wife, who was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in front of a shattered window. In the final episode of the season, after the husband is convicted and sent to prison, cellphone video is discovered of the wife being attacked and killed by an owl.

▪ In April 2017, NBC’s “Dateline” tackled the Peterson case with an episode called “Down the Back Staircase.” Peterson was interviewed by Dennis Murphy.

▪ Late last year, a BBC podcast called “Beyond Reasonable Doubt?” examined the case and scored a long interview with Michael Peterson. Reporter Chris Warburton also interviewed the Petersons’ former neighbor, Larry Pollard, who came up with the infamous “Owl Theory.”

▪ In December 2017, the popular podcast “My Favorite Murder” released a special 100th episode about the case. “The Staircase” documentary was one of the things hosts Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark bonded over the first time they met.

▪ The Investigation Discovery (ID) channel ran a three-part series on the Peterson case on April 8, 2018, called “American Murder Mystery: The Staircase.” The series included interviews with Durham District Attorney Jim Hardin, with the former male escort Brent Wolgamott (aka Brad from Raleigh) who was called to testify at the trial and with Kathleen Peterson’s sister Candace Hunt Zamperini, who initially defended Michael Peterson but later testified against him.

▪ Netflix obtained exclusive rights to “The Staircase” and released the first 10 episodes along with three new episodes in June 2018.

▪ In January 2019, Michael Peterson released an independently published memoir, “Behind the Staircase,” which chronicles his life since Kathleen’s death, including his time in prison.

▪ In April 2019, the “Dr. Phil” show aired an in-depth interview with Peterson that ran over two episodes.

▪ Peterson also appeared on an episode of the “Dr. Oz” TV show, along with his first wife, Patricia Peterson. That episode aired in October 2019.

This story was originally published November 22, 2019 at 10:47 AM.