Death by Lightning

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.

Main

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

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
• Alfie Tempest as Irvin Garfield

Development

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]

Music

It was announced in October 2025 that composer Ramin Djawadi would be scoring the series.^[12][13]

More information No., Title ...

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Prove My Worth"	1:05
2.	"The Man from Ohio"	2:35
3.	"Daily Theocrat"	1:05
4.	"Meeting the President"	0:52
5.	"The Story of a Hero"	2:40
6.	"It’s a Deadlock"	1:26
7.	"A Big Game"	1:50
8.	"The Nominee"	3:48
9.	"Show Me a Better Man"	1:17
10.	"A Sound Investment"	0:58
11.	"You Will Have No Voice"	1:35
12.	"A Flair of Hope"	2:00
13.	"Broken Promises"	0:49
14.	"Torpedo and the Whale"	1:32
15.	"History Will Remember Us"	2:25
16.	"A Question of Order"	0:35
17.	"Friends in Politics"	1:08
18.	"A President for the People"	3:13
19.	"The Letter"	1:35
20.	"Give Voice to the Common Man"	1:10
21.	"A Special Purpose"	3:50
22.	"Democracy Calls"	1:41
23.	"Stop the Vote"	1:40
24.	"I Believe in Change"	1:13
25.	"A Place in History"	2:26
26.	"A True American Hero"	1:26
27.	"Death by Lightning"	2:55
Total length:		48:44

Close

Death by Lightning premiered on November 6, 2025, on Netflix.^[14]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of 67 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."^[15] On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100 based on 29 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[16]

Shannon and Macfadyen's portrayals of Garfield and Guiteau were singled out for praise.^{[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]} 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."^[25]

The American Film Institute named it one of the ten best television programs of the year.^[26]

Accolades

More information Year, Award ...

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2026	American Cinema Editors Awards	Best Edited Limited Series	Joseph Krings, Anna Hauger, Michael Ruscio & Joe Leonard (for "The Man from Ohio")	Nominated	[27]
	Critics' Choice Awards	Best Limited Series	Death by Lightning	Nominated	[28]
		Best Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie Made for Television	Michael Shannon	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie Made for Television	Nick Offerman	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie Made for Television	Betty Gilpin	Nominated
	Peabody Awards	Entertainment	Death by Lightning	Pending	[29]
	USC Scripter Awards	Best Adapted Screenplay – Television	Mike Makowsky (for "Destiny of the Republic")	Won	[30]
	Visual Effects Society Awards	Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode	Rainer Gombos, Steve Kullback, Marko Ljubez, David Ramos (for "The Man from Ohio")	Nominated	[31]
	Writers Guild of America Awards	Best Limited Series	Mike Makowsky	Nominated	[32]

Close

• Murder of a President, 2016 episode of season 28 of the PBS documentary series American Experience, centered on Garfield and his assassination.