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Death by Lightning
2025 historical drama miniseries From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Death By Lightning is an American historical drama miniseries created by Mike Makowsky and based on the 2011 book Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard. It stars Michael Shannon as United States President James A. Garfield and Matthew Macfadyen as his assassin Charles J. Guiteau. The 4-episode series premiered on November 6, 2025, on Netflix. It received widespread acclaim from critics, with particular praise for the performances of Shannon and Macfadyen.
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Premise
The series depicts the election and presidency of James A. Garfield, the 20th United States President, including his anti-corruption and pro-civil rights stances, as well as how his path crossed with Charles J. Guiteau, a deluded admirer, who ended up shooting him, leading to Garfield's death.
Cast and characters
Main
Supporting
- Paula Malcomson as Franny Scoville
- Alistair Petrie as John Sherman
- Ben Miles as George Scoville
- Laura Marcus as Mollie Garfield
- Archie Fisher as Joe Brown
- Stuart Milligan as George F. Hoar
- David Nykl as Levi Morton
- Richard Rycroft as Spurlock
- Michael Carter as James Joy
- Dominic Applewhite as W.A.M. Grier
- Andrew Hefler as Tom Platt
- Daniel Gosling as John Foster
- Vondie Curtis-Hall as Frederick Douglass
- Tuppence Middleton as Kate Chase Sprague
- Bronagh Waugh as Myrna
- Barry Shabaka Henley as Blanche Bruce
- Nicholas Woodeson as Charles D.A. Loeffler
- Christine Grace Szarko as Susan Ann Edson
- Daniel Betts as John Humphrey Noyes
- Željko Ivanek as Doctor Willard Bliss
- Shaun Parkes as Dr. Charles Purvis
- Kyle Soller as Robert Todd Lincoln
- Richard Rankin as Alexander Graham Bell
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Episodes
Production
The series was announced in February 2024, with Michael Shannon cast to play Garfield, and Matthew Macfadyen to play Guiteau.[1][2] Shannon was keen to play Garfield as he himself did not know anything about the man.[3] Macfadyen compared his interpretation of Guiteau to the Pixar villain Syndrome.[4] Matt Ross was set to direct all episodes of the series.[1] Later that month, Nick Offerman and Betty Gilpin joined the cast, as Chester A. Arthur and Lucretia Garfield respectively.[5][6] In May, Bradley Whitford and Shea Whigham were added, with Stephen McKinley Henderson, Paula Malcolmson and Tuppence Middleton joining in recurring roles.[7] Laura Marcus was added in July.[8] In October, additional castings were announced, including Barry Shabaka Henley (replacing McKinley Henderson in his role), Vondie Curtis-Hall and Željko Ivanek.[9]
Filming began in Budapest on July 1, 2024,[10][11] and wrapped in October of the same year.[9] It was announced in October 2025 that composer Ramin Djawadi would be scoring the series.[12]
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Release
Death by Lightning premiered on November 6, 2025, on Netflix.[13]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of 55 critics' reviews are positive. The website's critics consensus reads, "Handsomely mounted and electrified by Matthew Macfadyen's masterclass in slimy desperation, Death by Lightning concisely dramatizes a fork in history while wistfully hinting at what could've been."[14] On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100 based on 29 critics, indicating "universal acclaim."[15]
Shannon and Macfadyen's portrayals of Garfield and Guiteau were singled out for praise.[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Richard Roeper's review at RogerEbert.com gave the series 3.5 stars out of 4, praising its boldness: "remembers Garfield as a decent man...Guiteau as one in a long line of broken and twisted souls."[24]
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See also
- Murder of a President; PBS documentary American Experience
References
External links
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