Netflix has announced a new historical miniseries, Death by Lightning, debuting in November 2025, and I’ll admit, I’m both excited and cautiously optimistic.
The show features two of my favorite actors – Nick Offerman and Matthew Macfadyen – and tells a story I know well: the assassination of President James A. Garfield in 1881 and the tragic medical ordeal that followed.
The series is based on Destiny of the Republic by Candace Millard, one of the finest works of narrative history of the past two decades. Millard’s book vividly captures the little remembered hope, chaos, and heartbreak surrounding Garfield’s presidency and death – and how flawed medical practices, not the assassin’s bullet, ultimately doomed him to a painful death.
This story has long fascinated me. During my years at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, I frequently presented on the Garfield assassination and the medical care he received after the shooting.
Despite the advances made in medicine since the Civil War, Garfield’s physician – Dr. Doctor Willard Bliss – relied heavily on outdated techniques rooted in the wartime medical practices he learned while serving as chief surgeon at Washington’s Armory Square Hospital. His refusal to embrace antiseptic techniques turned a survivable wound into a slow-motion tragedy that shocked the nation and ensured Bliss a dubious place in history.
I even produced a video for the National Museum of Civil War Medicine exploring this very topic, connecting Garfield’s suffering to the broader story of post–Civil War medical reform.
So yes, I’m eager to see how Death by Lightning portrays this pivotal moment in American history. The combination of talented actors, historical depth, and the power of Millard’s book gives me hope that Netflix will do the story justice.
When the show premieres this November, I’ll be sharing my thoughts – and likely a few reaction videos on my YouTube channel, digging into how well the series captures the world of 19th-century medicine, politics, and tragedy.
If you’re as intrigued by Garfield’s story as I am, you’ll want to add Death by Lightning to your watchlist.
More about history and popular culture
What We’re Watching This Week | Spotlight (2015)
Podcast – Reviewing October Sky (1999)
Some thoughts on “The Molly Maguires” on the 50th anniversary of its big screen debut
Lieutenant Harry Welsh of ‘Band of Brothers’ – Wounded at Bastogne on Christmas Eve, 1944
Lackawanna County airman killed in bombing raid featured in “Masters of the Air”
Subscribe to the latest from Jake Wynn – Public Historian
Enter your email below to receive the newest stories.
I sincerely hope this production is more factually based than the absolutely awful Apple TV production of Manhunt about the Lincoln Assassination and hunt for John Wilkes Booth.