We get some good storytelling, and then it just ends. Death By Lightning is certainly a case of that, bringing us four fun episodes and then nothing more.
This was by design, as the series told us the story of the assassination of James Garfield, the 20th President of the United States. It’s a story that isn’t often told, as most people will focus on the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy.
Death By Lightning is a miniseries
There is some bad news for those who enjoyed Death By Lightning and want more. The series was billed as a miniseries, making it clear that there are no intentions of continuing the story. In fact, there isn’t much of a story to tell, as the four parts offered the beginning, middle, and end.
So, there’s no need to expect a second season of the series. What can it go into with the aftermath of Garfield’s assassination and Chester A. Arthur becoming the next president? While there are certainly things that he did to help change American politics, the main part of Death By Lightning’s story was the buildup to Garfield’s assassination.
This doesn’t mean there can’t be a second season. Just because something is billed as a miniseries or a limited series hasn’t stopped a renewal before. Just look at Good Omens and Big Little Lies. However, it’s unlikely that there will be more to this one.
It could open the door to something similar
Rather than a second season, Death By Lightning could open the door to something similar. The assassination of William McKinley is one that is rarely discussed, and it opens the door for the attack on him in a fictionalized retelling.
After all, every assassination has a reasoning behind it. People have felt justified in taking such action for a different political view. No, it’s never right at all, and this is something fictionalized retellings can show.
There doesn’t even need to be a focus on assassinated presidents. A similar type of storytelling can be used to tell a fictionalized retelling of something else major that happened in history. The aim of Death By Lightning was to highlight the evergreen element of the divide in politics, and there is a similar feeling in other elements of life, such as civil rights throughout the centuries.
So, while we won’t likely get a second season of Death By Lightning, there are ways to bring a similar theme from the same storytellers.
Death By Lightning is available to stream on Netflix.
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