The tragically short tenure of the 20th US president is the subject of this impressive mini-series…
Netflix’s impressive mini-series Death by Lightning (2025) dramatizes the events around the 1881 assassination of US President James Garfield by Charles Guiteau.
Initially reluctant to run for the presidency, Garfield was in office for just 200 days before he was shot – later succumbing not to the bullet but to the negligent medical treatment he received.
The story unfolds in two strands, as the lives of Garfield (Michael Shannon) and Guiteau (Matthew Macfadyen) become tragically intertwined.
Garfield’s story takes us inside the inner workings of the DC political machine, where the likes of James Blaine (Bradley Whitford) and Roscoe Conkling (Shea Whigham) are jostling for power. When – amid lacklustre efforts from his contemporaries – Garfield makes a stirring patriotic speech at the 1880 Republican National Convention, he finds himself on their presidential radar.
We also spend time with Guiteau – a chancer, ex-convict, and dreamer who worms his way into the political scene and latches on to Garfield, before turning on him. Dismissed as a harmless annoyance, he becomes increasingly desperate and unhinged.
As the upright Garfield, Shannon is suitably austere, coming across as a good man trying to rise above the political cesspool and do the right thing for his country. His scenes at home on his Illinois farm and with his wife Crete Garfield (Betty Gilpin) are especially affecting.
Meanwhile, Macfadyen has all kinds of fun as Guiteau, keeping things the right side of cartoon villain. The look on his face when his reality finally catches up to him is priceless.
The most pronounced character arc belongs to Chester A Arthur (Nick Offerman), a boorish, immature thug selected as Garfield’s running mate purely on the basis of his powerful position in New York. Arthur is later forced to rise to the occasion and prove the faith Garfield vests in him.
If there are negatives, it’s the occasional lapse into the modern (including liberal use of the f- and m- f- words) and the fact that we never really know what made Guiteau tick, beyond unnamed psychological problems. By the end of the four episodes, the overriding feeling is anger – not at the assassin, but at the incompetent doctor who treated Garfield.
Overall, this is a strong drama, which brings to life a curious but highly significant episode from US history.
Writer takeaways: All kinds of fascinating, lesser-known episodes from history are waiting to be explored through screen drama. One of the main challenges is striking the right balance between historic authenticity and modern-day relevance.
Take a look at the trailer: