Death by Lightning

Series Similar to Death by Lightning

If you enjoyed Death by Lightning, these series share similar themes, tone, and quality. Each recommendation is scored on genre overlap, tonal match, and critical acclaim.

1. Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy

   2025 · Drama, Crime, History · ended

   Recommended for similar History profile.

   From 1972-1978, thirty-three young men were kidnapped, murdered, and buried in a crawl space beneath their killer's house. And no one was the wiser. Not for all those years. Why? He was charming and funny. Had a good, All-American job. Was a community leader. He even volunteered to entertain sick kids... while dressed as a clown. Devil In Disguise: John Wayne Gacy peels back the twisted layers of Gacy's life while weaving in heartrending stories of his victims; exploring the grief, guilt, and trauma of their families and friends; and exposing the systemic failures, missed opportunities, and societal prejudices that fueled his reign of terror.

2. This England

   2022 · Drama, History · ended

   Recommended for similar History profile, hidden gem.

   This England will tell the tale of some of the most devastating events to ever befall the United Kingdom, and of a Prime Minister leading in these unprecedented times. The drama will trace the impact on Britain from this once in a generation pandemic, and the response of scientists, nurses, and doctors as they worked tirelessly and heroically to contain and overcome the virus. It is based on the first-hand testimony of people from all walks of life; from Number 10 Downing Street, the Department of Health, The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), and from hospitals and care homes across the country.

3. Shardlake

   2024 · Drama, Crime, History · ended

   Recommended for similar History profile, hidden gem.

   The year is 1536. Matthew Shardlake, a brilliant lawyer with an acute sense of justice, finds his life turned upside down when Thomas Cromwell, Henry Vlll's right-hand man, sends him to the remote monastery of Scarnsea to investigate a murder, and to ultimately claim its wealth for the King. Accompanied by the arrogant and ambitious Jack Barak, it becomes clear that the death they are investigating is not the first. Facing hostility and suspicion at every turn and unsure of Barak's true intentions, Shardlake is drawn into a web of lies, deceit and corruption that threatens not only his integrity but his life.

4. Show Me a Hero

   2015 · Drama, Crime, History · ended

   Recommended for similar History profile.

   In an America generations removed from the civil rights struggles of the 1960s, the young mayor (Oscar Isaac) of a mid-sized city is faced with a federal court order to build a small number of low-income housing units in the white neighborhoods of his town. His attempt to do so tears the entire city apart, paralyzes the municipal government and, ultimately, destroys the mayor and his political future.

5. Chernobyl

   2019 · Drama, History · ended

   Recommended for similar History profile, highly rated (8.9).

   Chernobyl dramatizes the true story of one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history and tells of the brave men and women who sacrificed to save Europe from unimaginable disaster. The miniseries focuses on the heartbreaking scope of the nuclear plant disaster that occurred in Ukraine in April 1986, revealing how and why it happened and telling the shocking, remarkable stories of the heroes who fought and fell.

6. The Crown

   2016 · Drama, History · ended

   Recommended for similar History profile, highly rated (8.4), also on Netflix.

   The Crown tells the inside story of two of the most famous addresses in the world -- Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street - and the intrigues, love lives and machinations behind the great events that shaped the second half of the 20th century. Two houses, two courts, one Crown.

7. Heweliusz

   2025 · Drama, History · ended

   Recommended for similar History profile, hidden gem, also on Netflix.

   After a catastrophic ferry disaster, the off-duty captain seeks answers and justice for those who lost their lives — and those they left behind.

8. House of Guinness

   2025 · Drama, History · returning

   Recommended for similar History profile, also on Netflix.

   Dublin, 1868. The Guinness family patriarch is dead, and his four children -- each with dark secrets to hide -- hold the brewery's fate in their hands.

9. The Tattooist of Auschwitz

   2024 · Drama, History · ended

   Recommended for similar History profile.

   The Tattooist of Auschwitz tells the powerful true-life story of Lale Sokolov, a Jewish prisoner who is given the job of tattooing identification numbers on fellow prisoners' arms in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during World War Two. One day, he meets Gita while she is waiting in line to be tattooed. They experience love at first sight, and so begins one of the most life-affirming, courageous, unforgettable and human stories of the Holocaust; a tale of the very best of humanity in the very worst of circumstances.

10. Beecham House

    2019 · Drama, History · ended

    Recommended for similar History profile, hidden gem.

    The story begins as handsome and soulful former soldier, John Beecham, has acquired the house to start a new life for his family and a business as a trader. Wealthy and distinguished, John has witnessed profiteering and exploitation during his time with the controlling East India Company and appears haunted by his past. Determined to escape that life, he sets his sights on becoming an honorable member of the region's trading community.But in the glorious setting of Beecham House, John's life remains shrouded in mystery. His arrival provokes speculation and gossip amongst the servants and despite filling his residence with relatives and friends, Beecham's house still has dark corners that crackle with conspiracy, disharmony and sinister intent. The story also unfolds at a time when the 1,000-year-old Mughal rule is over and the British vie with the Maharajas to claim India as their own.