The Stranger-Than-Fiction True Story Behind Netflix’s New Star-Studded Historical Miniseries
Netflix's Death by Lightning depicts the shocking true events surrounding the assassination of U.S. President James Garfield. Well before the notion of a “parasocial relationship” gained attention, Charles Guiteau—a failed lawyer, aspiring preacher, and self-proclaimed political influencer—convinced himself he was responsible for Garfield's rise to the presidency.
After the White House ignored his handwritten demands for an ambassadorship to Paris, Guiteau’s obsession escalated to a tragic climax. In the summer of 1881, at a Washington, D.C. train station, he shot Garfield in the back, believing he had saved the Republican Party and possibly the nation.
“He was convinced he’d just saved the Republican Party… maybe even the nation.”
This narrative sounds like the perfect plot for a gripping prestige miniseries exploring obsession, ego, and the potential consequences of untreated mental illness. Netflix’s Death by Lightning brings this surreal story to life, transforming the nation's strangest presidential assassination into a darkly humorous character study.
Executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, known for Game of Thrones, have teamed up with Mike Makowsky of Bad Education to examine how Guiteau’s desperate craving for recognition and a government position collided with a political system already decaying from within.
“A single man’s warped need for validation and a cushy government gig collided with a political system already rotting from within.”
Author’s summary: Netflix’s Death by Lightning vividly dramatizes Charles Guiteau’s delusional obsession that led to President Garfield’s assassination and reveals deep flaws in 19th-century American politics.