Netflix has announced that the limited series Death by Lightning, starring Michael Shannon and Matthew Macfadyen, will premiere on November 6, 2025.
The Limited Series, which is based on Candice Millard’s 2011 novel Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President, chronicles the true story of the life and death of 20th U.S. President James Garfield.
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Death by Lightning is executive-produced by former Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. The limited series was created and written by Mike Makowsky, who also serves as showrunner. Matt Ross directed all episodes of the series and is also an executive producer, along with Bernie Caulfield.
What is Death by Lightning about?
Death by Lightning is based on the stranger-than-fiction true story of James Garfield, a reluctant president, and Charles Guiteau, a man who was both Garfield’s greatest admirer and his eventual assassin. Creator Mike Makowsky said in an interview with TUDUM, the Netflix-owned blog used to highlight the platform’s content, that while the story is set nearly 150 years in the past, its themes of political corruption and bureaucracy remain incredibly relevant today.
“The theme of corruption in politics and our bureaucracy feels particularly evergreen these days,” Makowsky said in the same TUDUM interview. “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.”
Death by Lightning Cast
- Michael Shannon as James Garfield
- Matthew Macfadyen as Charles Guiteau
- Betty Gilpin as First Lady Crete Garfield
- Nick Offerman as Vice President Chester Arthur
- Bradley Whitford as Senator James Blaine
- Shea Whigham as Senator Roscoe Conkling
- Paula Malcomson as Franny Scoville, the sister of Charles Guiteau
- Tuppence Middleton as Kate Chase Sprague
- Archie Fisher as Joe Brown
- Laura Marcus as Mollie Garfield, James and Crete’s daughter
- Barry Shabaka Henley as Senator Blanche Bruce
- Željko Ivanek as Dr. Bliss
- Kyle Soller as Robert Todd Lincoln
- Ben Miles as George Scoville
- Vondie Curtis-Hall as Frederick Douglass
- Shaun Parkes as Dr. Charles Purvis
- Alistair Petrie as John Sherman
First Look Images
When is the Death By Lightning release date?
Netflix has shared first-look images (above) and the official Death by Lightning release date. The Michael Shannon-fronted series will release exclusively on Netflix on November 6, 2025.
