Matthew Macfadyen and Michael Shannon to star in Netflix series about President James Garfield
Actors Matthew Macfadyen and Michael Shannon will both star in a new Netflix series that will explore the life and assassination of President James Garfield.
The show is called Death by Lightning and is based on the book Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard. As of yet, no release date has been revealed for the upcoming series which is set to arrive on the streaming platform later this year.
The official logline of the show reads, “Death by Lightning is a drama series that brings to life the epic and stranger-than-fiction true story of James Garfield (Shannon), reluctant 20th president of the United States, and his greatest admirer Charles Guiteau (Macfadyen) — the man who would come to kill him.”
The team behind the show includes Mike Makowsky of Bad Education, who has created the series and will also serve as executive producer. The likes of David Benioff, D.B. Weiss and Bernie Caulfield of Game of Thrones and 3 Body Problem will also executive produce.
Those three latter names all arrive under the Bighead Littlehead banner, which is signed to a deal with Netflix. Meanwhile, Matt Ross of 28 Hotel Rooms and Captain Fantastic will direct and executive produce.
Macfadyen recently won an Emmy Award for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for his appearance in the HBO series Succession. His work on the show had previously earned him a Golden Globe and a Bafta. Outside of Succession, the British actor is best known for his roles in the films Price and Prejudice and Death at a Funeral.
Shannon meanwhile recently appeared in the series George & Tammy and has previously given performances in Nocturnal Animals and Revolutionary Road, for both of which he was nominated for an Academy Award.
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