Death by Lightning

Death By Lightning is an upcoming American historical drama miniseries created by Mike Makowsky, based on the 2011 non-fiction book Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard.

Death by Lightning
Created by	Mike Makowsky
Based on	Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard
Directed by	Matt Ross
Starring	Michael Shannon Matthew Macfadyen Nick Offerman Betty Gilpin Bradley Whitford Shea Whigham
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Mike Makowsky David Benioff D. B. Weiss Bernie Caulfield Matt Ross
Production companies	Bighead Littlehead Productions Slater Hall
Original release
Network	Netflix

Premise

Depicts the presidency of James A. Garfield, leading up to his assassination by Charles J. Guiteau, who had been an admirer of his.

Cast

Main

• Michael Shannon as James A. Garfield
• Matthew Macfadyen as Charles J. Guiteau
• Nick Offerman as Chester A. Arthur
• Betty Gilpin as Lucretia Garfield
• Bradley Whitford as James Blaine
• Shea Whigham as Roscoe Conkling

Recurring

• Barry Shabaka Henley as Blanche Bruce
• Paula Malcomson as Franny Scoville
• Tuppence Middleton as Kate Chase Sprague
• Laura Marcus as Mollie Garfield
• Vondie Curtis-Hall as Frederick Douglass
• Željko Ivanek as Doctor Willard Bliss
• Archie Fisher as Joe Brown
• Kyle Soller as Robert Todd Lincoln
• Ben Miles as George Scoville
• Shaun Parkes as Dr. Charles Purvis
• Alistair Petrie as John Sherman

Production

The series was announced in February 2024, with Michael Shannon cast to play Garfield, and Matthew Macfadyen as the assassin Guiteau. 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.^[2] In May, Bradley Whitford and Shea Whigham were added, with Stephen McKinley Henderson, Paula Malcolmson and Tuppence Middleton joining in recurring capacities.^[3] Laura Marcus would be added in July.^[4] In October, additional castings were announced, including Barry Shabaka Henley (replacing McKinley Henderson in his role), Vondie Curtis-Hall and Željko Ivanek.^[5]

Filming began in Budapest on July 1, 2024,^[6][7] and wrapped in October of the same year.^[5]