The announcement of Netflix's "House of Cards" having a fifth season got fans scouring the internet for information on when it will be airing and how the plot changes. It would appear that the story may be greatly affected by people the audience do not see onscreen.
One major change that everyone already knows is that Beau Willimon, showrunner for the first four seasons, will be leaving the critically acclaimed series. This has been made official in a statement released by Netflix in January 2016, saying they owe a tremendous amount of gratitude for Willimon's vision and talent, and that they wish him well in his next endeavors, Entertainment News reports.
Melissa James Gibson and Frank Pugliese will be taking the helm and decide where the show will gravitate to. How they will shape the series is going to be entirely new, although fans are curious if they share the same sentiments with Willimon with regard to the recent elections.
Willimon has been very vocal about his opinions on Donald Trump's race to the presidency, GameNGuide reports. Considering "House of Cards" is a political drama, it may come as no surprise if the recent fiasco could reflect in the series' storyline despite Willimon's absence.
If he wins we must get over our disbelief & dismay immediately. We use that energy starting tomorrow to prevent him from ruining the nation.
— Beau Willimon (@BeauWillimon) November 9, 2016 " data-caption="null" data-credit="Twitter/ @BeauWillimon">With regard to the actual characters of the show, Deadline's interview with Michael Kelly, who plays as Doug Stamper, may give fans a few hints. When asked if Kevin Spacey's character Frank Underwood might be following suit with Willimon, Kelly said, "You lose characters that you love. We almost lost Frank, and I always have faith in the writers that no matter what road we go down, we're going to come back to what the show is."
It is not difficult to imagine the possibility of that scenario since Frank had a serious health condition near the end of season 4.
With the very nature of how manipulation takes place, a conspiracy angle also is not out of the question. Parent Herald speculates Frank's wife, Claire Underwood, may be creating an evil plot with Doug to kill the president. With the show's theme geared toward pursuit of power, that can happen.
Nothing is confirmed yet, including the exact date of the season 5 premiere, only that it is expected by 2017.
