HBO’s ‘Staircase’: Who is Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, director of Peterson documentary?
The premiere of HBO Max’s “The Staircase” is renewing interest — locally and beyond — in the 2001 death of Kathleen Peterson in Durham and the subsequent murder trial and conviction of her husband, Michael Peterson.
The series, premiering May 5, is a dramatization of Jean-Xavier de Lestrade’s documentary series of the same name, which is available for streaming on Netflix.
In the new HBO Max series, de Lestrade and other members of the documentary crew, including producer Denis Poncet and editor Sophie Brunet, become a significant part of the story, creating “a richer, more compelling narrative” than the documentary itself, The News & Observer has written.
In Episode 1, for example, viewers see Poncet pitch the Peterson story to a skeptical de Lestrade as their next project. The duo also work to convince Peterson and his defense attorney, David Rudolf, to give them full access throughout the case.
In the dramatized series, de Lestrade is played by actor Vincent Vermignon. Documentary producer Denis Poncet is played by Frank Feys. The duo had previously worked together on “Murder on a Sunday Morning,” a documentary that won an Oscar in 2001.
What else is there to know about de Lestrade and Poncet? Here’s a look at the duo and their work.
Who is Jean-Xavier de Lestrade?
De Lestrade is a French director, writer and producer who has credits including several documentaries, TV movies, series and more.
▪ According to the biography on his IMDb page, de Lestrade studied journalism and law in Paris before creating his own TV news agency, Tribulations, in 1987.
▪ He became a freelance director and documentarian in 1992, according to IMDb. His primary focus is documentary work that “scrutinizes the mechanisms of society.”
De Lestrade won an Oscar for Best Documentary in 2001 for “Murder on a Sunday Morning,” a work that focuses on Brenton Butler, a Black 15-year-old who was wrongfully accused of murder in Florida in 2000.
▪ De Lestrade’s film follows Butler’s defense team as they craft their case and present it to court. The jury in the case finds Butler not guilty.
After the release of “Murder on a Sunday Morning” in September 2001, de Lestrade’s crew began filming almost immediately on Michael Peterson’s case, beginning just after Peterson’s indictment in December 2001.
▪ The documentary crew was given full access to the Peterson case, interviewing Peterson’s extended family, members of the defense and prosecution and more. They also filmed the entirety of the trial in court.
▪ The series was originally completed in 2004. It aired as an abbreviated version on ABC’s “Primetime” that year before airing on channels in France and England, as well as the Sundance Channel in the U.S.
▪ De Lestrade and the documentary crew returned to Durham to film Peterson as he sought a new trial after SBI agent Duane Deaver was fired in 2011. Deaver had served as an expert witness during the trial and had lied under oath.
▪ The resulting documentary, with the additional footage, premiered on Netflix as “The Staircase,” a 13-episode series, in 2018.
Who is Denis Poncet?
On both “Murder on a Sunday Morning” and “The Staircase,” de Lestrade worked closely with Denis Poncet, who served as a producer for both projects.
▪ Poncet and de Lestrade began working together in 1995, according to de Lestrade’s IMDb bio.
▪ The duo also worked together on “Sin City Law,” a 2007 TV series, with de Lestrade writing and Poncet producing.
▪ Poncet died in France in 2014.
More on HBO’s ‘The Staircase’
For full coverage of HBO Max’s “The Staircase” and other background on the death of Kathleen Peterson and the murder trial of Michael Peterson, visit: newsobserver.com/topics/staircase
This story was originally published May 5, 2022 at 9:00 AM with the headline "HBO’s ‘Staircase’: Who is Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, director of Peterson documentary?."
