Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | TV | November 7, 2025
I was a big American history nerd in college, and before that, I was the history guy on our high school Quiz Bowl team (8th place at Nationals!). I could rattle off the Presidents in order from George Washington to Ulysses Grant without breaking a sweat, and from William McKinley to the present. But the stretch between Rutherford B. Hayes and Grover Cleveland’s second, non-consecutive term (like our current President) always tripped me up.
Of that already forgettable line of Presidents, James Garfield and Chester Arthur seemed the most inconsequential. Can anyone name anything that happened during those four years besides Garfield’s assassination by Charles Guiteau? I couldn’t. But the four-episode Netflix series Death to Lightning brings the brief 14 months between Garfield’s 1880 nomination and his death in September 1881 vividly to life, and it’s far more fascinating than you’d expect.
The show isn’t just engaging as a history lesson; it’s also unexpectedly entertaining, thanks to standout performances from Matthew Macfadyen (Guiteau), Michael Shannon (Garfield), Bradley Whitford (James Blaine), and especially Nick Offerman as Chester Arthur and Shea Whigham as the magnificently corrupt Roscoe Conkling.
The first episode follows Garfield’s improbable rise at the 1880 Republican National Convention. He arrived to nominate John Sherman but gave such a stirring speech that, after 35 ballots - the longest GOP convention ever - he ended up winning the nomination himself. Garfield was such a reluctant candidate that instead of campaigning nationwide, he stayed on his Ohio farm and let the campaign come to him.
Chester Arthur, a drunk with no real qualifications, was chosen as his running mate because he could help shore up party support. Together, they narrowly defeated Winfield Scott Hancock in the general election.
Meanwhile, Charles Guiteau was a delusional hanger-on who tried to attach himself to whoever held power. After failing to find a place in the Grant administration, he fixated on Garfield’s, desperately seeking a patronage job. When he was repeatedly rejected, he bought a gun and set out to make Chester Arthur president. It worked.
The series fills in the rest: Garfield’s clash with Conkling over political appointments, Arthur’s uneasy loyalty, and the broader corruption of the era, all brought together under the sharp direction of Matt Ross (best known as Gavin Belson on Silicon Valley).
Created by Mike Makowsky (Bad Education) and adapted from Candice Millard’s Destiny of the Republic, Death to Lightning not only shines light on a neglected chapter of American history but turns it into compelling, surprisingly emotional television. By the end, I was genuinely moved, and a little crushed, to realize that Garfield might have been one of our better Presidents had he been given more than three months in office. At least his brief tenure brought out Chester Arthur’s hidden competence. No one remembers Arthur’s accomplishments, but at least he’s not remembered as a total disgrace.
