HBO Max’s Staircase: Release Date for Episode 4 and Answers to Your Questions

The staircase – The new eight-episode miniseries of HBO Max, which explores the life of writer Michael Peterson and the suspicious death of his wife Kathleen – is already airing and is an instant classic. The drama stars big names like Colin Firth, Sophie Turner and Patrick Schwarzenegger, and there are currently huge result of 95 on the sister site of CNET Metacritic.

The first three episodes began airing on Thursday, and if you’ve already watched them, you may have questions about the death of Elizabeth “Liz” Ratliff or when we’ll put on our real crime detective hats again for episode 4. Here are the answers.

Covered in books, podcasts and acclaimed 2004 Netflix documentary of the same name as the HBO show, the 2001 case continues to provoke debate and theory. If you haven’t watched episodes 1-3 of HBO’s The Staircase, pay attention: there are some spoilers below.

When is episode 4 of The Staircase airing?

The first three episodes are available now, and a new episode will be released every Thursday until June 9. This means that episode 4 should debut on May 12.

How can I watch the documentary?

The 2004 documentary, also called The Staircase, is streaming on Netflix. Directed by French documentary filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade originally broadcast as an eight-episode miniseries, but Netflix added two sequels from the director, as well as three additional follow-ups. Some think so to be one of the best genuine criminal documents out there.

HBO Max’s new drama is directed by Antonio Campos, who began work on the project all the way back in 2008. The show is a co-production between HBO Max and Annapurna Television and was written and executive produced by Campos and Maggie Con.

How are the show and the documentary related?

Interestingly, the filming of the 2004 documentary Staircase is part of the story in the new HBO Max show, with actor Vincent Vermignon playing the director of the documentary de Lestrade. We see the team start filming Peterson in episode 2.

The HBO Max series is not just based on documentary material. He also draws on books and reports on the case. However, viewers of the dramatized show and the document will notice the similarities between the two. For example, in both there is a scene in which an intrusive recording of a woman calling for help (in order to imitate Kathleen) is played while Michael is standing near the pool in his backyard.

What happened in the real case?

On 9 December 2001 Ambulance staff were found 48-year-old business director Kathleen Peterson is dead at the bottom of a staircase at her home in Durham, North Carolina. Her husband, writer Michael Peterson, told 911 operators Kathleen has accidentally fell the stairs. However, he was charged with murder months ago I was up.

In the autopsy report issued in 2002Leading pathologist Deborah Radish concluded that the cause of Kathleen’s death was due to a severe brain injury caused by multiple blunt blows to the head … The number, severity, location and orientation of these injuries were inconsistent with the fall. stairs; instead, they are indicative of multiple beatings. “

The actual trial lasted three months in 2003, making it one of the longest trials in North Carolina. prosecutors supported Michael beat Kathleen to death, and the defense claims she accidentally fell down several stairs to her death. Michael’s sex life has become public during the trial. For more facts about the case, go a little further (but keep in mind: there are spoilers for the show).

Who are the main characters in HBO Max’s “Staircase”?

There are many characters in this new version of The Staircase. If you’ve been trying to figure out who’s who in Michael and Kathleen’s large family, you’re not alone.

Let’s start with the children.

Sophie Turner and Odessa Young play Margaret and Martha Ratliff, Michael Peterson’s adopted real-life daughters who took over his country after Kathleen’s death. Olivia DeJong plays Caitlin Atwater, the real-life daughter of Kathleen Peterson and her ex-husband Fred Atwater. Eventually, Caitlin testified On the side of the prosecution.

Patrick Schwarzenegger and Dane DeHaan play Todd and Clayton Peterson, Michael’s real sons from his first marriage, to Patricia Peterson.

Rosemary DeWitt and Maria Dizia play Kathleen’s real-life sisters, Candice Zamperini and Lori Campbell, and Tim Guinney plays Michael’s brother, Bill.

And of course, Colin Firth is Michael and Tony Colette is Kathleen on the show.

Who was Elizabeth “Liz” Ratliff and how did she die?

At the end of HBO Max’s Staircase Episode 3, we learn a little more about Elizabeth “Liz” Ratliff’s death. Here’s what we know about real life events.

Elizabeth Ratliff, a family friend of Michael Peterson and his first wife Patricia, died in 1985, just two years after her husband George.

An autopsy found that Elizabeth died of a cerebral hemorrhage. After Elizabeth’s death, Michael and Patricia adopted Ratliff’s two daughters, Martha and Margaret. When Michael moved to Kathleen in 1989, Martha and Margaret went with him.

Before the trial for Michael’s murder began, it was revealed that Elizabeth Ratliff, like Kathleen, had been found dead at the bottom of a staircase. Prosecutors exhumed Ratliff’s body, and pathologist Deborah Radish performed an autopsy in North Carolina (Radish also performed an autopsy on Kathleen). She concluded that the cause of Ratliff’s death was murder.

Big Spoilers: Where’s Michael Peterson now?

In 2003, a jury found Michael Peterson guilty of murder after a three-month trial and he was sentenced to life in prison. However, a judge of the Supreme Court Orlando Hudson (who oversaw the initial trial) gave Peterson another test in 2011 after he discovered blood splash analyst Dwayne Dever let him and the jury down. Peterson was released on bail.

of Peterson official edition came in 2017 after entering an application in Alford, which allowed him I plead guilty while maintaining his innocence. Today, he continues to live in Durham, according to Raleigh News and Observer.