A 2016 Republican Party presidential debate saw a surprise from Netflix when a fake presidential campaign video was released. The teaser showed fictional president Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), as well as the premiere date for season 4.
The 30-second video opened with scenic shots, coupled with an inspiring narration saying, "It's a new day in America." It is followed by heartwarming footage that showed employment in the country, a family welcoming home a soldier and children running around waving flags. Frank then fades into view as the narration attributes all these good things to his presidency.
A confident Frank then says, "America, I'm only getting started." And in a moment of parody, reminiscent of real campaign videos, it ends with his voice of approval.
The trailer was received well and its seemingly authentic style may have not only captured audience attention, but perhaps even secured a few votes for the fictional character. It only made fans more excited for the new season.
Neve Campbell has reportedly signed on to play an unidentified role in the upcoming season. Colm Feore, on the other hand, has also joined the cast in a recurring role.
Although nothing has been revealed about the two additional cast members' roles, there have been reports about the Underwoods facing new rivals in season 4. Frank and Claire (Robin Wright) will reportedly have to go head-to-head with a younger version of themselves. But will the power couple be able to do so without falling out?
Season 3 ended with Claire seemingly leaving Frank, and their rocky relationship will apparently spill over to season 4. Showrunner Beau Willimon spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the show's intention to keep moving forward with exploring their marriage.
"A lot of the strength of the show is based on the strength of that marriage. But as soon as we began to explore that, we realized there was no turning back," he said. "We also realized we'd laid the groundwork in the previous two seasons for this conflict between Francis and Claire, and the more we began exploring it, the more inevitable it became. And the more exciting it was for us to travel that emotional terrain."
Fans of the pair are worried about the fate of their union, especially since Claire is not featured in Frank's official campaign website. After all, the two have always been stronger together.
But if Claire does end up leaving Frank, at least there's still one other person he can turn to. The previous season saw the reunion of Frank and Doug (Michael Kelly), whose relationship will also reportedly be highlighted in the upcoming season.
"House of Cards" season 4 will premiere on March 4, 2016.
