Netflix's popular political drama "House of Cards" hit a snag when allegations of sexual abuse against its main actor Kevin Spacey surfaced. The drama was in indefinite hiatus until recently, when Netflix's chief content officer Ted Sarandos announced that production for the show's final season will resume on January 2018. However, Spacey will no longer be on the show.
Instead of the usual 13 episodes, "House of Cards" season 6 will only contain eight. The story will no longer follow the exploitative political genius of Frank Underwood, the character played by Spacey. The story focus will instead shift to Frank's wife Claire Underwood, as played by Robin Wright.
Speaking at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York, Sarandos said that Netflix is excited with the idea of bringing closure to "House of Cards" fans.
The Netflix original is produced by Media Rights Capital (MRC) and is shot in Baltimore, Maryland. Sarandos expressed his thanks to the MRC team, saying that he was "gratified" to close a deal with the 370 people working directly for "House of Cards," as well as the 2,000 people from Baltimore who have jobs because of the show.
Netflix was in the middle of production for "House of Cards" season 6 when news about Spacey's sexual abuse allegations came out. In late October, actor Anthony Rapp of "Star Trek: Discovery" fame told Buzzfeed that Spacey made sexual advances towards him when he was 14 years old.
Netflix and MRC's response was swift, suspending the show's production immediately after the news broke out. "Netflix will not be involved with any further production of 'House of Cards' that includes Kevin Spacey," the streaming company said in a statement.
Spacey neither confirmed nor denied the allegations. In a tweet dated Oct. 30, the actor said he was "horrified" to hear Rapp's story, although he cannot remember the event happening. He apologized for what he described to be "deeply inappropriate drunken behavior," and stated that he now chooses to live as a "gay man."
