Netflix to get second show from Game of Thrones' creators to go with sci-fi epic

(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

published 5 February 2024

David Benioff and DW Weiss are to put together another show for Netflix, now that 3 Body Problem has been delivered.

The duo who brought George RR Martin's Game of Thrones books to the small screen, along with Cixin Liu's sci-fi trilogy, are turning their attention to the true life tale of James Garfield, the reluctant 20th President of the United States, and his subsequent assassination.

Death by Lightning will star Michael Shannon (Man of Steel, Boardwalk Empire) as Garfield and Emmy award-winner Matthew Macfadyen (Succession) as his biggest fan and eventual assassin, Charles Guiteau.

The thing that ties it to the Benioff and Weiss' previous two projects is that it too is based on a book – Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard. However, they won't act as showrunners this time, with Bad Education's Mike Makowsky instead leading the production.

As The Hollywood Reporter suggests, the show is still in pre-production as of now so it'll take a fair while for it to premiere on the streaming service. In the meantime, the debut of 3 Body Problem is set for 21 March 2024.

It is a sci-fi epic set across different timelines as plans for a possible alien invasion are uncovered. The Game of Thrones' showrunners have brought a few of their acting alumni with them to their new show, including Jonathan Pryce and Liam Cunningham as part of a star-studded cast.

Fans of Liu's book series will note that there will a few minor and a couple of major differences for the sake of the TV adaptation, but the author himself had final approval on all narrative alterations, so you can be assured that they will make sense.

How much does Netflix cost?

A Netflix subscription starts at £4.99 / $6.99 for ad-supported membership, while a premium subscription (which includes 4K HDR streaming and Dolby Atmos audio) will set you back £17.99 / $22.99 per month.

There is currently a standard membership tier as well, priced at £10.99 / $15.49 per month, but there are rumours that it will be removed in the coming months.

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