The Stranger-Than-Fiction True Story Behind Netflix’s New Historical Miniseries
Netflix's Death by Lightning chronicles the assassination of U.S. President James Garfield, portraying shocking real-life events. Long before "parasocial relationships" became a popular concept, there was Charles Guiteau — a failed lawyer, aspiring preacher, and self-declared political influencer who believed he personally helped put President Garfield in office.
After the White House ignored his handwritten letters demanding a Paris ambassadorship, Guiteau took his obsession to a chilling extreme. In the summer of 1881, he confronted Garfield at a Washington, D.C. train station and shot him in the back, believing he had saved the Republican Party and perhaps even the nation.
If this sounds like the plot of a compelling prestige miniseries about obsession, ego, and a possibly untreated STD, that’s fitting. Netflix’s Death by Lightning revives this extraordinary tale of delusion and democracy gone awry, turning one of America’s strangest presidential assassinations into a darkly funny character study.
Executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, known for Game of Thrones, have partnered with Mike Makowsky of Bad Education to examine how one man’s desperate need for recognition collided with a political system already undermined from within.
"Charles Guiteau — a failed lawyer, wannabe preacher, and self-styled political influencer who decided he was personally responsible for putting President James Garfield in office."
"In the summer of 1881, he cornered Garfield in a Washington, D.C. train station and shot him in the back, convinced he’d just saved the Republican Party… maybe even the nation."
"Netflix’s Death by Lightning resurrects this real-life fever dream of delusion and democracy gone off the rails, turning the country’s strangest presidential assassination into a bizarre, darkly funny character study."
Summary: Netflix’s Death by Lightning explores the strange and darkly humorous story of Charles Guiteau’s obsession-fueled assassination of President Garfield, exposing a decayed political system and personal delusion.