Netflix is traveling back to the 1880s — and its turbulent politics — in the trailer for its forthcoming series Death by Lightning.
The four-episode thriller, which counts Game of Thrones and 3 Body Problem co-creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss among its executive producers, tracks the lives of James Garfield (Michael Shannon), the 20th president of the United States, and Charles Guiteau (Matthew Macfadyen), a great admirer of Garfield’s — who ends up becoming his assassin.
The series, created and written by Mike Makowsky (HBO’s Emmy-winning Bad Education) is based on Candice Millard’s book Destiny of the Republic. It’s set to premiere Nov. 6. Watch the trailer below.
Along with Shannon and Macfadyen, Death by Lightning’s core cast also includes Shea Whigham, Nick Offerman, Betty Gilpin and Bradley Whitford. Alistair Petrie, Archie Fisher, Barry Shabaka Henley, Ben Miles, Kyle Soller, Laura Marcus, Paula Malcomson, Shaun Parkes, Tuppence Middleton, Vondie Curtis Hall and Željko Ivanek have guest roles.
Netflix gave Death by Lightning a straight-to-series order in February 2024, with Macfadyen making the show one of his first TV commitments following Succession (he also has The Miniature Wife on deck at Peacock) — and there’s a definite Wambsgansian energy to his portrayal of Guiteau in the trailer.
Makowsky, Benioff and Weiss executive produce the series with Bernie Caulfield and director Matt Ross (Gaslit, Silicon Valley).
