'Death By Lightning' Will Bring James Garfield's Assassination to Life

Although Americans, as a general rule, love British period dramas, we don't necessarily make many of our own. There are, of course, some notable exceptions. The 1939 Civil War drama Gone with the Wind remains one of the most popular movies of all time, and more recent efforts, such as Underground, Manhunt, and The Gilded Age, have added a prestige sheen to our country's history. However, there aren't many series set in America's past, despite the numerous historical eras and stories that would make for great TV. Netflix is doing its best to change that with Death by Lightning, which tells the story of one of the most dramatic moments in U.S. presidential history: the assassination of James Garfield.

Garfield was the 20th U.S. president and is, unfortunately, more remembered for the manner of his death than for anything related to his life or politics. A Civil War general and former member of Congress, he was shot at a Washington, D.C. railroad station less than four months into his term, on July 2, 1881, by a man named Charles J. Guiteau. Though his wounds were not initially fatal, he suffered from sepsis and infection due to a bullet that remained lodged in his abdomen, and he died two months later in New Jersey on September 19, 1881. 

What makes this story even more bizarre, however, is that Guiteau was once one of Garfield's most ardent supporters. He believed he had played a vital role in Garfield's victory and that the new president owed him a diplomatic post as a reward. (In reality, all he did was distribute some printed copies of a speech he wrote. This is basically like if every Twitter warrior suddenly decided they deserved a government job in France.) Frustrated after months of trying to obtain such a position from the administration, he finally purchased a revolver and began stalking Garfield.

Michael Shannon (Nine Perfect Strangers) will play President Garfield, opposite Matthew Macfadyen (Succession) as Guiteau, with Betty Gilpin (Elementary) as First Lady Crete Garfield, Nick Offerman (The Last of Us) as Vice President Chester Arthur, and Bradley Whitford (The Diplomat) as Secretary of State James Blaine. 

They're joined by a sprawling ensemble that includes British actors Tuppence Middleton (Our House) as Kate Chase Sprague, Paula Malcomson (Redemption) as Guiteau's sister Franny Scoville, Ben Miles (Douglas Is Cancelled) as George Scoville, Alistair Petrie (Funny Woman) as John Sherman, Archie Fisher (Boarders) as Joe Brown, Laura Marcus (The Serpent Queen) as Mollie Garfield, and Shaun Parkes (The Suspect) as Dr. Charles Purvis.

The series also co-stars American actors Željko Ivanek (The Last Duel) as Dr. Bliss, Kyle Soller (Poldark) as Robert Todd Lincoln, Vondie Curtis-Hall (The Recruit) as Frederick Douglass, Shea Whigham (Boardwalk Empire) as Senator Roscoe Conkling, and Barry Shabaka Henley (Bob Hearts Abishola) as Senator Blanche Bruce.

“It’s been the thrill of a lifetime seeing this crack team come together to bring James Garfield and his cohort back from the annals of long-forgotten history,” creator Mike Makowsky (Bad Education) tells Netflix's Tudum. “Six years into working on this project, it’s a story I still can’t believe is true — in all its wild, tragic glory — and it somehow feels even more relevant to our world today than ever before. I can’t wait for us to be able to finally share it.”

Here's the series' synopsis.

Death by Lightning is a drama series that brings to life the epic and stranger-than-fiction true story of James Garfield, reluctant 20th president of the United States, and his greatest admirer Charles Guiteau — the man who would come to kill him.

"The theme of corruption in politics and our bureaucracy feels particularly evergreen these days,” Makowsky told Tudum. “The idea of civil service reform and waging a battle to clean up the grift in our government — this is something that Garfield very much stood on the front lines of in his time. In 1881, it feels like America is sort of standing at a crossroads between the past and what the future of this country is going to look like, and it’s up to [people like Garfield] to really define how America, 100 years after its inception, is going to look, and what kind of society they’re going to be.”

Based on Candice Millard’s 2011 non-fiction book, Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President, the series hails from executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (Game of Thrones) as part of their overall deal with Netflix. Makowsky served as the showrunner of the series and wrote all the episodes, with Matt Ross (Gaslit) directing. Bernie Caulfield is also an executive producer.

Death by Lightning does not yet have a confirmed release date, but it is expected to premiere on Netflix later this year.