'The Staircase' is exploitative true crime at its best (and worst)

The Staircase is like a mirror of true crime. The more you watch it, the more you realize that it's a lie.

The fictionalized show based on the 2004 documentary series should not be confused with the true crime drama starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette. It should not be confused with the original docuseries, The Staircase II, or any of the countless re-releases over the past two decades across various networks and platforms.

Audiences and the TV execs vying for our attention simply cannot get enough of the story.

In 2001, a wealthy novelist was accused of murdering his wife in their North Carolina mansion and his privileged life was destroyed. The trial dominated the news cycles as prosecutors insisted that the scene was proof of Michael's guilt, while he and most of their children insisted it was just a freak accident.

The documentary gave viewers an intimate, all-access front row seat to the defense team, and the trial's shattering effect on a grieving family forced to perform for the media circus. The prosecution team and the French documentarians are the central characters in the story because of the fictionalized series.

By incorporating the filming of this popular piece of true crime media into the plot itself, The Staircase aims to ask lofty questions about the nature of fact, fiction, and narrative in the American criminal justice system. This new crop of true crime subgenres has a puzzlingly pseudo-intellectual slogan that proclaims "There is no truth without lies."

To describe the total dehumanization process that every single real-life person connected to this awful death underwent during their decades in the public eye is what makes The Staircase a true crime classic. The final stage of the tragedy-exploitation machine feels like the dramatization. Kathleen, Michael, and their kids are reduced to fictional characters for our entertainment consumption, but it also adds colorful new characters like real-life prosecutor Freda Black.

This star- studded cast re-enactment of the well-worn story beats of this brutal case is grotesque, because of how their immense talents can turn these people into such compelling characters. The show goes to great lengths to recreate every single second of Kathleen's final moments of life, not just once, but a couple times. In the two different versions of Kathleen's death presented by the homicide investigators and Michael's defense team, Collette uses all her horror-acting chops to really sell us.

There are even heavy-handed winks to the camera to spotlight what one can only describe as easter eggs for fans of this classic true-crime did-he-dunnit case. More than once, teasing introductions to key pieces of heavily-debated evidence and hints at the speculative theories about this actual human beings death are used for dramatic effect. It raises the question of who this series is for. The show is written in a way that assumes you know everything about the case already, but there isn't a lot of new stuff to be gleaned from Hollywood giving the 20-year-old documentary a fictionalized glow-up.

While reviewers only received five out of the eight total episodes, it is clear that the infamous "owl theory" will soon come into play, as evidenced by the abundance of bird imagery and some not-so-subtle lines sprinkled throughout. For those out of the loop, theowl theory is one of the ridiculous alternate hypotheses that are normalized by online sleuths. Like those amateur internet sleuths, the filmmakers don't seem very interested in questioning the morality of treating real-world victims like they are part of a murder mystery game.

There's no arguing that this cast absolutely nails their performances. Credit: HBO Max

The show tries to ask critical questions about this twisted human impulse that fuels the true crime phenomenon, but it ends up sensationalizing Kathleen's death to say anything of value. It comes across as the most disturbing live-action dramatization of Clue: The Real True Crime Story Edition. Where was Kathleen killed? It was on the staircase. Was it with the fireplace poker or sleeping pills? Who killed Kathleen on the staircase? It can only be Mr.Peterson or Mr. Owl.

The Staircase wants to take a page out of The People vs. OJ Simpson by shining a light on how American society ignores the plight of victims. It is a poor imitation of what made that show worthwhile. There is less style, cultural relevance, thoughtfulness, and sensitivity towards the loved ones who still survive those victims and must relive the trauma every time we drag their corpses back onto that stage.

I do not say anything from atop a moral high horse. I can't pretend that The Staircase did not hook me up a few times. I am a true crime bottom-feeder. If The Staircase embodies exploitative true crime trashiness, then I am the garbage disposal, guzzling the regurgitated human blood from the same cases of violent human tragedy over and over again.

If you are looking for answers about this case or the larger ethical questions of the true-crime genre, you will not find them in The Staircase. When it comes to true crime fodder, a retelling is sure to feed other murder-loving goblins like myself.