‘The Staircase’ Review: A Bingeable Enigma

You’ll want to clear your schedule for the expanded version of the true-crime documentary.

It’s a bold claim, but I think I invented binge-watching, way back in 2004. The inspiration: An advance copy of “The Staircase,” the eight-part, French-made, docu-mystery series about the murder trial of novelist Michael Peterson—whose wife had died, on Dec. 9, 2001, at the foot of the stairs of their Durham, N.C., home. Mr. Peterson said she fell. The authorities said otherwise. What followed was a sensational case, and an uninterrupted 384 minutes of viewing by me.

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