Many Netflix fans were disappointed to hear of the suspending on House of Cards during the shooting of its sixth season in the wake of sexual assault and harassment allegations against actor Kevin Spacey. Spacey, playing the main character of Frank Underwood, had been its star. However, after some time has passed, Netflix has reached an agreement to continue shooting the show’s final season, but without Spacey.
House of Cards follows Underwood on his mission to become President of the United States. Loosely based on the 1990 British limited series of the same name, Frank lies, cheats, steals and kills his way to the top with ruthless cunning and an all-consuming desire for power. However, after he gets into the ultimate office, he finds that keeping power is as hard as getting it.
According to Variety, Netflix’s Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos announced that the season will have eight episodes and star Robin Wright as Claire Underwood, Frank’s wife and the current President of the United States. No one is sure how exactly Frank will be dispatched, but it will likely be offscreen and dealt with quickly, given that there are only eight episodes to tie up the story. Filming will resume in early 2018, meaning that the show will not likely premiere until late 2018 or early 2019. This might be for the best storywise, as many fans now prefer Claire over Frank, given Frank slowly spiraling into ridiculous madness and Claire slowly making diplomatic headway.
Netflix is also hedging its bets by renewing fan favorites like Stranger Things for a third season and Mindhunter for a second season. Not all of their original programming made the cut; Haters Back Off was cancelled after its second season. The streaming service is now looking into creating interactive series for both adults and kids, broadening the watching experience beyond play and pause.
