Death by Lightning

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 four-episode series premiered on November 6, 2025, on Netflix. It received widespread acclaim from critics, with particular praise for the performances, and was named one of the best television programs of the year by the American Film Institute.

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.

The series was announced in February 2024, with Michael Shannon cast to play Garfield, and Matthew Macfadyen to play Guiteau. Shannon was keen to play Garfield as he himself did not know anything about the man. Macfadyen compared his interpretation of Guiteau to the Pixar villain Syndrome. Matt Ross was set to direct all episodes of the series. Later that month, Nick Offerman and Betty Gilpin joined the cast, as Chester A. Arthur and Lucretia Garfield, respectively. In May, Bradley Whitford and Shea Whigham were added, with Stephen McKinley Henderson, Paula Malcomson and Tuppence Middleton joining in recurring roles. Laura Marcus was added in July. In October, additional castings were announced, including Barry Shabaka Henley (replacing McKinley Henderson in his role), Vondie Curtis-Hall and Željko Ivanek.

Filming began in Budapest on July 1, 2024, and wrapped in October of the same year.

It was announced in October 2025 that composer Ramin Djawadi would be scoring the series.

Death by Lightning premiered on November 6, 2025, on Netflix.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 69 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." On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Shannon and Macfadyen's portrayals of Garfield and Guiteau were singled out for praise. Richard Roeper's review at RogerEbert.com gave the series 3.5 stars out of 4, praising its boldness and writing that it "remembers Garfield as a decent man [and] Guiteau as one in a long line of broken and twisted souls."

The American Film Institute named it one of the ten best television programs of the year.

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

• Death by Lightning at IMDb