‘Death By Lightning’: Vondie Curtis Hall, Željko Ivanek & Barry Shabaka Henley Among 8 To Join Netflix Limited Series

Netflix has revealed more of the cast for its upcoming series Death by Lightning, produced by Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

Joining the limited series, which is set to debut next year, are Archie Fisher as Joe Brown, Barry Shabaka Henley (who replaced Stephen McKinley Henderson) as Senator Blanche Bruce, Željko Ivanek as Dr. Doctor Bliss, Kyle Soller as Robert Todd Lincoln, Ben Miles as George Scoville, Vondie Curtis Hall as Frederick Douglass, Shaun Parkes as Dr. Charles Purvis and Alistair Petrie as John Sherman.

The series from Mike Makowsky (Bad Education), which hails from Benioff and Weiss via their overall deal with Netflix, tells the stranger-than-fiction true story of Garfield’s assassination by Charles Guiteau (Matthew Macfadyen). It is based on the novel Destiny Of The Republic by Candice Millard. 

Michael Shannon leads as the 20th POTUS, and British up-and-comer Laura Marcus will play his daughter, Mollie. The series also stars includes Nick Offerman, Betty Gilpin, Bradley Whitford and Shea Whigham.

Also on Friday, Netflix revealed that production on the series had wrapped in Budapest this month.

Garfield was President in 1881 and was assassinated later that year, having previously served nine terms as a Congressman. He was elected as a Senator but declined this when he became President, despite having not sought the office. He was shot by Guiteau, who felt he had played a major role in Garfield’s election. The show is based on the novel Destiny Of The Republic by Candice Millard.