‘Death by Lightning’: Matthew Macfadyen & Michael Shannon Break Down the ‘Timely and Timeless’ Story of Garfield & Guiteau

[Warning: The below contains Major spoilers for Death by Lightning, Episodes 1-4.] Death by Lightning has landed on Netflix, bringing to screen the story of ill-fated president James Garfield (Michael Shannon), and his assassin, Charles Guiteau (Matthew Macfadyen). Based on Candice Millard’s 2011 book, Destiny of the Republic, showrunner Mike Makowsky brings together a strong ensemble of performers to portray the historical figures in this four-part limited series. “I have to confess I knew almost nothing about Garfield,” Makowsky tells TV Insider about what drew him to adapt Millard’s book. “I was really just blown away by the quality of her writing and the story itself.” As Makowsky puts it, “I found [the book] at the buy-two-get-one-free table…