'Death By Lightning' Creator Mike Makowsky

Interview with the creator of one of my favorite shows this year.

Share
'Death By Lightning' Creator Mike Makowsky
Netflix

This past week (actually, the week before Thanksgiving, if we want to get technical) I got to interview Mike Makowsky, creator of Netflix’s Death By Lightning, for GQ. You can check out that GQ piece here.

I was a big fan of the show, and it seems like I’m not alone in this (it is the beau ideal of a “dad show”). When I read the book a few years back (Candice Millard’s Destiny of the Republic) it seemed like the kind I’d love to see as a movie or show, even though those kinds of adaptations often don’t turn out that well. To my surprise, Makowsky’s adaptation seemed to capture most of what I loved about the book, without trying to cover everything in it. It had a take on the book, which is what any great adaptation needs. And then, of course, the cast brought a little something special and surprising to every role. In fact, I this bluesky post by Klungar kind of sums it up:

Yep.

Anyway, check out the GQ piece (in which I go into much greater detail about the historical background of the show and its parallels), listen to the interview here, and if you enjoy this kind of audio #Content, maybe give the Frotcast a follow too if you haven’t already.