Following the sexual misconduct issues faced by the "House of Cards" lead actor Kevin Spacey, Netflix has decided to let him go. With this, the fans can no longer expect that Spacey's character, Frank Underwood, will be featured in season 6 next year. In fact, recent reports show that those filmed episodes with Spacey have already been scrapped.
Spacey's participation in "House of Cards" season 6 was set in stone, but when "Star Trek: Discovery" actor Anthony Rapp revealed that the former had sexually harassed him when he was just 14-years old, the show's executives immediately fired Spacey. More sexual harassment allegations have surfaced following Rapp's confession, which put the "House of Cards" production in turmoil that it was almost decided to cancel the series altogether.
According to Vulture, Spacey has already filmed a few sequences for "House of Cards" season 6 back in October. This was before Netflix decided to no longer be involved with Spacey in the company's future projects. Now, these wrapped-up episodes for season 6 featuring Frank Underwood are already disregarded.
Netflix maintained that "House of Cards" will move on without Spacey and his character around. Instead, the upcoming season will be a pivotal one for the entire series, as Claire Underwood, Frank's wife, will take over as the overall lead character. This news was confirmed by Netflix chief executive Ted Sarandos earlier this week, revealing that actress Robin Wright will get the solo spotlight in season 6.
The decision to make Claire Underwood the focus on "House of Cards" season 6 might be a way of filling in the void left by Frank's absence. However, Vanity Fair noted that the big change has already been suggested by the previous events. For one, Frank has become a predictable character that the show itself has paved the way for his success. On the other hand, Claire has always been working behind the curtain for her own personal gain. Finally, at the end of season 5, all her hard work paid off as she became the first female president of the United States of America.
For those viewers following Claire's rise to power all throughout these years, "House of Cards" season 6 will be the perfect stage for the character to show how powerful she can be.
"House of Cards" season 6 was initially set to air in mid-2018, but due to the delays in production, the sixth installment of the series does not yet have an official release date.
