The sixth and final season of "House of Cards" will be focusing solely on Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) as she takes centerstage as the president. As production has already officially resumed for the upcoming season following a three-month hiatus, Netflix cleared that embattled former lead actor Kevin Spacey will no longer be featured on the show, contrary to earlier pronouncements and speculations.
Season 5 ended with Underwood making a solid pronouncement by saying "My turn," and the show will further explore the pursuit of power. "House of Cards" showrunner Frank Pugliese says that Underwood has finally "become more ambitious, or actually just more pronounced with her ambitions openly about what she wants, her complicity is going to be different than Francis' complicity."
With much on the line for Underwood, season 6 will showcase how the first female president goes to great lengths in order to keep her reputation sanitized and untarnished.
As Spacey is seeking treatment following allegations of sexual misconduct by actor Anthony Rapp, "House of Cards" is set to make way for new characters coming into the show. Aside from stepping into a more pivotal role on the show, Wright also stepped up as executive producer, making difficult decisions post-controversy.
According to an interview with People, actress Patricia Clarkson, who plays Jane Davis on "House of Cards," has said that Wright "has done a good thing in not letting the show fall apart. 'Let's rethink it. Let's think of the crew, the crew's families, everybody involved, and let's go out on a higher note."
The final season will only include eight episodes and will introduce new characters to be played by Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear. Also returning for season 5 are actors Michael Kelly (Doug Stamper), Jayne Atkinson (Catherine Durant), Patricia Clarkson (Jane Davis), Constance Zimmer (Janine Skorsky), Derek Cecil (Seth Grayson), Campbell Scott (Mark Usher), and Boris McGiver (Tom Hammerschmidt).
Due to delays brought about by the Spacey controversy, an early-summer release might be out of the question. Although no official date for the premiere has already been announced, the speculation is that "House of Cards" will be returning during the fall.
