The actors Nick Offerman, known for his roles in Parks and Recreation and The Last of Us, and Betty Gilpin, who has previously been in Glow, have both joined the Netflix show Death By Lightning.
The streaming service’s upcoming offering, already featuring Matthew Macfadyen and Michael Shannon, will focus on the assassination of the former President of the United States, James A. Garfield.
The show was written by Bad Education screenwriter Mike Makowsky and directed by Matt Ross of Captain Fantastic, with David Benioff and D.B. Weiss both serving as executive producers.
Based on the book Destiny of the Republic, Death By Lightning will focus on the strange true story of James Garfield, the 20th President of the United States and his great admirer and killer, Charles Guiteau. Garfield was the President back in 1881 but was assassinated later that year after nine years as a Congressman.
Garfield was elected as a Senator but declined the position when he became President in a reluctant manner, having never sought office. Guiteau was believed to have played a key role in his election before subsequently shooting him to death.
Gilpin has joined the last as Crete Garfield, while Offerman will play Chester Arthur. Offerman had recently hit back against homophobia at the Spirit Awards following the online hatred he had received as a result of his appearance in The Last of Us.
The actor thanked HBO for having “the guts to participate in this storytelling tradition,” adding, “stories with guts, that when homophobic hate comes my way and says, ‘Why did you have to make it a gay story?’, we say, ‘Because you ask questions like that – it’s not a gay story, it’s a love story, you asshole.'”
