Death By Lightning Becomes A Streaming Hit On Netflix

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Netflix’s new historical series, Death by Lightning, is quickly gaining attention. The show tells the story of James A. Garfield (played by Michael Shannon) – from his rise to the presidency to his assassination – and his connection to his killer, Charles J. Guiteau (Matthew Macfadyen). The miniseries is adapted from Candice Millard’s 2011 book, Destiny of the Republic.

Since its release on Netflix on November 6th, Death by Lightning has quickly become popular, currently ranking as the second most-watched show in the United States. It’s just behind the comedy special Leanne Morgan Unspeakable Things, but is performing better than shows like Nobody Wants This (season 2), Squid Game: The Challenge (season 2), and Selling Sunset.

The historical series is receiving excellent reviews, currently boasting an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 42 critic reviews. Viewers also seem to be enjoying it, giving it a 90% audience score, though it’s still gaining popularity.

Despite focusing on a little-known historical period, the show Death by Lightning has been praised for telling a compelling story about a brief presidency and the people involved, with moments of unexpected humor. Ben Gibbons from ScreenRant gave the series a remarkable 9 out of 10 stars, describing it as both “captivating” and “astonishing.” He also commended the show’s authentic recreation of the late 1800s through its costumes, sets, and conversations.

One of the biggest strengths of Death by Lightning is definitely the acting. Shannon and Macfadyen really shine, and Macfadyen, in particular, seems to be leaning into that brilliantly pathetic character type he perfected as Tom Wambsgans in Succession, but honestly, he elevates it here. The supporting cast is also fantastic – you’ve got Nick Offerman, Betty Gilpin, Shea Wingham, and the always-great Bradley Whitford rounding things out.

The success of “Death by Lightning” is helping David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the creators of “Game of Thrones,” regain positive recognition. Following the divisive final season of “Game of Thrones,” they stepped away from a planned “Star Wars” project and began a deal with Netflix. Since then, they’ve been working closely with Netflix on shows like “The Chair” and “3 Body Problem.” The sci-fi series “3 Body Problem” proved popular and has been renewed for two more seasons.

Mike Makowsky created the series and also served as a writer and executive producer for all four episodes. Matt Ross directed all of them, and Ramin Djawadi, known for his work on Game of Thrones, composed the music.

All four episodes of Death by Lightning are now available on Netflix.

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2025-11-09 00:48