Death by Lightning premiered on Netflix on November 6, 2025, as a four-episode limited series about President James A. Garfield and the man who killed him, Charles J. Guiteau. All four episodes are now streaming on Netflix.

What “Death by Lightning” Dramatizes

The series follows James A. Garfield’s rise to the presidency and the delusional office seeker who ultimately assassinated him in 1881. Creator Mike Makowsky and director Matt Ross ground the drama in Candice Millard ’s 2011 nonfiction book Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President . Asked about preparation, Matthew Macfadyen (who plays Charles J. Guiteau ) says, “I knew nothing about it,” explaining that he read Millard’s book and “jumped in from there.” Michael Shannon (who

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