# Death by Lightning (2025)

> A four-episode Netflix miniseries tracing James Garfield's rise to the presidency alongside the obsessive path of his assassin Charles Guiteau.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/161012

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 4
- Episode runtime: 53 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, history
- Created by: Mike Makowsky
- Network: Netflix
- Cast: Michael Shannon, Matthew Macfadyen, Nick Offerman, Shea Whigham, Bradley Whitford, Betty Gilpin, Alfie Tempest, Anders Grundberg
- TMDB rating: 7.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31121364/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: sober, tense, dread-filled, measured

## What critics say

Audience reception is positive, praising the cast and the historical retelling of Garfield's rise and assassination.

## Synopsis

Death by Lightning (2025) is an American historical miniseries created by Mike Makowsky for Netflix, a four-episode limited series that interweaves two lives. Michael Shannon plays James Garfield, an obscure Ohio figure who rises to become America's 20th president, while Matthew Macfadyen plays Charles Guiteau, the restless drifter whose festering grievance drives him toward the crime that ends Garfield's brief term. Nick Offerman appears as Chester A. Arthur, and Shea Whigham and Bradley Whitford play the party bosses Roscoe Conkling and James Blaine, whose factional maneuvering defines the spoils system of the period. Each episode moves at a measured, dramatic pace, with the political machinery of 1880s Washington grinding against the private obsessions of the men at its center. The show is built on a single continuing story rather than case-of-the-week episodes, and it leaves little doubt about its outcome, so the viewing experience rests on dread and inevitability. The tone is sober and tense, with bursts of graphic violence. Fans of John Adams and Chernobyl will find resonance in its prestige treatment of real history and its close look at power and failure.

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