Treat Williams, Samaire Armstrong and Kevin Pollak star in the Lifetime Original Movie, “The Staircase Murders,” a provocative drama based on the actual events of the famed murder case involving Michael Peterson, the novelist accused of killing his socialite wife in their North Carolina home.

Production is underway in Louisiana. Produced by Lionsgate, “The Staircase Murders” premieres Sunday, April 15, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, with a special encore airing on Monday, April 16, at 9 p.m. ET/PT, on Lifetime Television.

In “The Staircase Murders,” loving father, aspiring politician and successful New York Times best-selling novelist Michael Peterson (Williams) was the picture perfect husband to his wife Kathleen. But when a panic-stricken Michael frantically calls 911 to report Kathleen has accidentally fallen down the stairs, investigators arrive at their home to discover several suspicious findings at the crime scene and soon begin to question the truth about Kathleen’s death.

Michael’s children, biological sons Todd and Clayton from a previous marriage, adopted daughters Margaret and Martha and step-daughter Caitlin (Armstrong), quickly rally to their father’s defense until autopsy findings reveal Kathleen’s injuries could not have been sustained by a fall. Shocked and betrayed by her accused step-father’s actions, Caitlin breaks rank with the family to publicly accuse Michael of murder.

All the while, Michael consistently maintains his innocence, even going so far as to allow cameras into his home to document his legal team’s defense strategies. But as the trial looms, shocking discoveries about Michael’s sexuality, previous marriage, war service and the mysteriously similar circumstances of an old friend’s death are revealed, making even his own lawyer, David Rudolf (Pollak), question his client.