Death by Lightning (Season 1)

Death by Lightning (2025) is a historical limited series you can watch online on iFILM. It follows two men: an obscure Ohio politician shoved toward the White House almost against his will, and the drifter who convinced himself that killing him was a personal calling.

Michael Shannon plays James Garfield, dragged into the presidency by a deadlocked party convention he never campaigned to win. Matthew Macfadyen is Charles Guiteau, a deluded grifter sure that he secured that victory single-handedly and earned an ambassadorship for it. When he's brushed off, he buys a revolver. The cast also includes Nick Offerman, Bradley Whitford and Betty Gilpin.

Adapted from Candice Millard's nonfiction book, the series cares less about the gunshot than about everything that led to it — Gilded Age backroom politics, wounded vanity, and the doctors whose fumbling did more damage than the bullet ever could. Director Matt Ross keeps the tone balanced between tragedy and pitch-black comedy, turning a footnote most history classes skip into something you'll want to finish. Stream Death by Lightning (2025) online on iFILM.