A Bargain Bin Book Became Netflix's 'Death by Lightning' — the Story Behind the Garfield Miniseries
A discounted hardcover plucked from a Barnes & Noble bargain bin at The Grove in Los Angeles became the seed for "Death by Lightning," Netflix's four-episode limited series about the assassination of U.S. President James A. Garfield. The series creator, Mike Makowsky, found Candice Millard's book "Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President" in that bin — a clearance copy that eventually led to a Netflix production with David Benioff and D.B. Weiss among its producers (The Hollywood Reporter).
Garfield was the 20th president of the United States. His presidency lasted just 200 days before he was assassinated (The Hollywood Reporter). The series follows Garfield as he rises from poverty to the pinnacle of American politics before that assassination (Netflix Tudum).
Michael Shannon plays Garfield. Matthew Macfadyen plays Charles Guiteau, the man who shot him. Nick Offerman plays Chester A. Arthur, the vice president who succeeded Garfield. Betty Gilpin, Shea Whigham and Bradley Whitford round out the cast (The Hollywood Reporter).
The series title comes from a quote by Garfield himself (The Hollywood Reporter). It was originally planned as six episodes but was reduced to four, the final count confirmed by Netflix's own cast guide (Netflix Tudum).
Makowsky's path to the project carries its own credentials. He previously wrote HBO's Emmy-winning film "Bad Education" (The Hollywood Reporter). Benioff and Weiss, the duo behind "Game of Thrones," served as producers, bringing their production deal with Netflix to bear on a historical subject rather than a fantasy one.
Netflix positioned the series prominently through 2025. It appeared in the platform's January 2025 newsroom announcement of upcoming U.S. series (Netflix Newsroom) and was presented at Netflix's Upfront event in May 2025, the annual presentation where the platform pitches advertisers on its slate (Netflix Newsroom).
What makes the origin story memorable is its ordinariness. A writer browsing a discount table, a book about a mostly forgotten president, and a chain of decisions that turned both into a streaming production with a notable cast. Garfield's 200-day presidency is one of the shortest in American history; the series that now dramatises it had its own contraction, losing two episodes between plan and delivery.
