There have been multiple examinations of the "Michael Peterson" case ever since the untimely passing of his wife, Kathleen, gained nationwide press in 2001.

The story is receiving screenplay treatment, with Colin Firth playing Peterson.

HBO The Staircase Episode 1 Recap

The episode begins with, viewers seeing a close-up of a man's face. He's in bed, slowly rising. It's Feb. 24th, 2017, in Durham, NC.

We move from this opening sequence, where Michael Peterson struggles with his tie and thinks his children are home, to a frantic 911 call.

Peterson, running for office to be mayor of Durham, discovered his wife Kathleen in the back stairwell in a barely breathing state, at least according to him.

He then dials her number five minutes later when the ambulance would arrive. When first responders arrive, Kathleen is already gone.

When Michael's son Todd returns home after going out, the police are already investigating, and so we see that Kathleen has, for some reason, bled on the stairs and walls and is lying in a puddle of blood.

Michael is upset, of course, but claims Kathleen drank too much booze to run down the staircase while they were in their jacuzzi. The police think otherwise.

Watch Or Not

So, you can always tell if a show will be good by how the first episode delivers (not all the time, but most of the time).

And this first episode DELIVERS.

This is definitely worth a watch.