Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
So you’ve finished watching The Staircase and your head is packed with facts and theories about Michael Peterson’s case and Kathleen Peterson’s tragic death. Now what? True crime documentaries can be emotionally and mentally draining to watch, especially when you’re talking about a docuseries as dense as The Staircase. Thankfully there’s one show that understands that you’ve been scream-arguing with your TV, and it’s here to help. The NBC comedy Trial & Error is here to cure you of your true crime fatigue through brutal mockery.
Trial & Error feels as closely connected to The Staircase as American Vandal does to Making a Murderer. It just mimics every twisting beat of Michael Peterson’s case so well. The NBC comedy follows Larry Henderson (John Lithgow), a poetry professor from South Carolina who’s accused of murdering his wife by pushing her out a window. Much like in the docuseries, there’s also a suspicious homosexual relationship involving the suspect, a prejudiced town, a daughter with a confusing relationship with her on-trial father, a lying authority figure, and lots and lots of PowerPoint struggles. The who, where, and how are different — Michael Peterson was a crime novelist living in Durham, North Carolina who was accused of pushing his wife down a flight of stairs — but just barely. The resulting series feels like a Mad Libs version of The Staircase. But just like in the docuseries, Trial & Error‘s quirky and seemingly unhinged subject acts as the driving force behind this insane story.
Despite the similarities between the two shows, Trial & Error often transcends past parody for parody’s sake. During what’s supposed to be a dramatic moment from the prosecution, Assistant District Attorney Carol Anne (Jayma Mays) introduces a dramatic reenactment video of Henderson murdering his wife. Only this reenactment video wasn’t created with actors but rather Flash animation, like a 2000s video game complete with a high score. It’s a crass moment, yes, but it’s also one that tonally mirrors The Staircase‘s oddly flippant tone when it comes to recreating blood splatters. Even the structure of the series seems to smartly wink at The Staircase. Though the series’ first season has 13 episodes, the show doesn’t even start exploring the trial until Episode 9. It’s hard to look at that time investment and level of dramatic buildup and not be reminded of how the original run of The Staircase told the story of its trial over nearly eight hours.
Beyond the mirror plot, the actors make Trial & Error a warped delight. Lithgow portrays his possibly sociopathic weirdo so well, it’s shocking he hasn’t been given this type of role sooner. Both Mays and Sherri Shepherd play against type to both of their advantages. In Mays’ case that means trading in Glee‘s doe-eyed Emma for the sharp, manipulative, and constantly displeased Carol Anne. Likewise Shepard departs from her sassy and confident characters from 30 Rock and Less Than Perfect to play Anne Flatch, a bubbly, soft-spoken researcher who has a bad habit of laughing at inappropriate moments. Mays is almost deviously terrible as a villain, and Anne proves that we really need to see Shepard in less intense roles.
Over the course of roughly five hours, Trial & Error takes all the drama of a great docuseries and tells its terrible crime through a slapstick lens. Is it unabashedly silly? Yes. Is it in any way as emotionally impactful as The Staircase? No. But if obsessing over Michael Peterson’s case has replaced your social life, Trial & Error is a much needed break.
