Los Angeles, CA | December 12, 2025
King+Country™ has created four signature main title sequences for the Netflix limited series Death by Lightning, created by Mike Makowsky and executive produced by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. The series is a psychological and historical exploration of the relationship between President James A. Garfield and his assassin, Charles Guiteau. At the center of the studio’s creative approach is a custom-built animated zoetrope that transforms nineteenth century politics into a meticulously crafted mechanical world. The device serves as both narrative engine and visual metaphor, setting the tone before the story even begins.
The zoetrope was selected not only for its historical relevance but also for its poetic potential. Invented shortly after Garfield’s birth, it created a natural link to the era. While the original tool relies on simple static objects, King+Country™ expanded it into a sprawling mechanical landscape filled with gears, pistons, ropes and pulleys. None of these components are required for a zoetrope to function, which made them perfect symbols of the political machinery that shaped both Garfield and Guiteau. The team engineered the device with intentional excess. They wanted a world that felt complicated on purpose. The result bridges historical authenticity with an aesthetic that feels modern in its precision and theatricality.
The development process began with deep historical research into early animation devices, political cartoons, industrial machinery and the social climate surrounding the assassination. These references guided the visual language of the sequence. Each slice of the zoetrope tells its own story. Garfield unicycles a tightrope surrounded with knives drawn from political cartoons of the era. Guiteau hops across piles of cash away from the cops. Shadowy bankers quietly pocket coins. Even the strangest beats, like a head being chopped off by a feather, are rooted in real attitudes or events of the time. “We wanted to capture the spirit of the era without turning it into a museum exhibit,” says Rick Gledhill, Director and Partner at King+Country™. “The zoetrope gave us a foundation that could hold the emotional weight of the series and the repetition of the machine creates a rhythm that feels permanent and inevitable. Something that keeps turning long after the people inside it are gone.”
Every part of the machine was built from scratch. The team created a digital library of gears and mechanical systems, each designed to behave believably once animated. Many details appear for only fractions of a second, which required exceptional precision during modeling and layout. “The goal was for every component to feel physically plausible, even if the viewer only sensed it on a subconscious level” says KA Batcha, Art Director. “The small details flash by for only a moment, but that is what makes the viewing experience so rewarding.”
Lighting and atmosphere became a creative chapter of their own. After testing many approaches, the team landed on a moody backlit look with a shallow depth of field. The strategy reveals only fragments of the machine at a time. Hard edged lighting defines silhouettes. Small pockets of exposure reveal key details. The limited field of view keeps the complexity from overwhelming the frame and draws viewers into the act of searching for meaning inside the device.
“We built the piece to feel rooted in the period but unmistakably modern in execution,” says Animation Supervisor Andrew Cook. “The machine never fully reveals itself. It is intricate, imperfect and always in motion. That tension mirrors our characters in ways that felt honest to their stories.”
Influences from nineteenth century automata guided the movement and tone. Their handcrafted nature and blend of mechanical function with quiet theatricality shaped the team’s decisions at every stage. Across sequences referencing Chicago, Washington and the industrial atmosphere of New York’s Port Authority, the zoetrope becomes a metaphor for a system that elevated Garfield and consumed Guiteau. It represents a country wrestling with reform, ambition and delusion. It is a machine that reflects both the best and the worst of the era. King+Country’s main title embraces both the tragedy and the dark humor present in the story. The sequence is visually hypnotic and layered with meaning. It strikes a balance between historical authenticity and satirical bite. “We leaned into the madness because the story earned it,” says Gledhill. “History gave us a perfect metaphor. Our job was simply to bring the machine to life.”
“We’re well known for our work on historical drama main titles, with our Emmy for Good Lord Bird highlighting that expertise.” Says Jerry Torgerson EP and Partner, ”when we’re challenged to create something truly original, that’s when our team delivers its strongest work.”
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Credits:
Director / Creative Director: Rick Gledhill
Executive Producer: Jerry Torgerson
Animation Supervisor: Andrew Cook
Producer: Ryan Lowrie
Art Director: KA Batcha
Designers: Josh Lewis, Jason Guerrero
3D Animation/Modeling: Saman Khorram
Animation/Compositing: Hugo Codinach, Rafael Monguilhott, Tom Kenney
Editor: Hans Carillo