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Death by Lightning lands on Netflix on November 6, 2025. The series revisits the shooting of President James Garfield by Charles Guiteau and the long fight for his life that followed. It tracks the path from a Washington train station to a New Jersey sickroom, then to a courtroom where Guiteau stood trial.Created by Mike Makowsky and based on Candice Millard’s book Destiny of the Republic, the drama stars Michael Shannon as James Garfield and Matthew Macfadyen as Charles Guiteau. It aims to show what happened, why it mattered, and how a short presidency still left ripples in American politics.How Death by Lightning frames the caseThe show centers the events of 1881. On July 2, James Garfield arrived at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station. Charles Guiteau, a disappointed office seeker who allegedly believed the party owed him a job, fired two shots. Garfield survived the attack but never returned to full health. He died on September 19.President Garfield in reviewing stand, viewing inauguration ceremonies, on March 4, 1881 (Image via Wikimedia Commons)Across episodes, Death by Lightning sets testimony beside timelines. It looks at the power struggle inside the Republican Party, the role of patronage, and Chester A. Arthur’s sudden rise. It also follows the medical story that dominated the summer, when doctors reportedly probed the wound and chased the bullet without clean technique. According to The New York Times, unsterilized exams likely worsened infection that already threatened the president.The events behind Death by Lightning: From station to sickroomEyewitnesses saw Blaine with Garfield at the station. Guiteau was taken into custody moments after the shots. In the weeks that followed, Garfield’s condition rose and fell. He was moved to the shore at Elberon for cooler air. Pneumonia and infection set in. He died at 49.Guiteau never denied the shooting. He claimed the medical care killed Garfield, a line he repeated in court. A jury still found him guilty. He was hanged in 1882. The case, and the outcry over patronage that Guiteau chased, helped push civil service reform. The Pendleton Act arrived in 1883, with exams for many federal jobs.“God reigns, and the Government at Washington still lives!”That line, delivered by Garfield during the Civil War years, became a touchstone in memorial accounts after his death.Also read: Who is Tyria Moore? All about the key figure in Aileen Wuornos caseWhat Death by Lightning highlights about James Garfield and Charles GuiteauGarfield’s story stretches far beyond his brief time in office. A former Union general and a long-serving congressman, he pressed for clean government and a fairer system for appointments. His break with party bosses, especially in New York, set up bitter fights over jobs that framed 1881.Garfield's casket lying in state at the Capitol Rotunda (Image via Wikimedia Commons)Guiteau’s path reads very differently. He drifted through failed ventures, then turned to politics. He wrote a speech for the campaign, then allegedly convinced himself that victory made him a natural pick for a consul post. When that did not happen, he fixated on Garfield. The series presents his pursuit as a case of obsession, not policy.Cast, scope, and release for Death by LightningBeyond Shannon and Macfadyen, Death by Lightning includes Nick Offerman as Chester A. Arthur and Betty Gilpin as Lucretia Garfield. The ensemble also features figures like James G. Blaine, Roscoe Conkling, and Frederick Douglass. The story begins at 9:30 am on that July morning, then widens to show the months of care, the trial, and the reform drive that followed.The goal is plain. Lay out what happened in simple terms. Keep the focus on facts. Where the motive is unclear, it is marked as reportedly or allegedly. And the larger point remains clear. A train station shooting shook a nation, and the fallout helped change how federal jobs were filled, a shift Death by Lightning places in sharp view.Also read: The Vallecas case on HBO’s The Vallecas Files - A detailed case overview
