'House Of Cards' Production To Resume Next Month With Robin Wright In The Lead [Updated]
Update: Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos has confirmed that House of Cards will end without Kevin Spacey, with the eight-episode final season officially placing Robin Wright in the spotlight. Sarandos added that the season will "bring closure of the show for fans." Our original article follows below.
After shutting down in the wake of the sexual assault allegations against star Kevin Spacey, Netflix's House of Cards is getting ready to resume filming. Production company Media Rights Capital sent a letter out to cast and crew of the dark political series suggesting that production will start up against early next month, and that it's likely Spacey will not be returning. The update on the House of Cards production is below.
There have been several rumors swirling around House of Cards in light of the damning sexual assault allegations levied against the show's star, Kevin Spacey. After word of the allegations against the actor broke, House of Cards announced that the upcoming sixth season would also be the show's last – although producers were quick to claim this had always been the plan. After this came news that production on the sixth season had been halted, and Spacey had been suspended from the show, suggesting that when and if it returned, co-star Robin Wright might be taking over as the lead. Now, TV Line has obtained a letter from House of Cards production company Media Rights Capital that indicates production will be starting up again on December 8. Here's the full letter:
Dear Cast and Crew,
As we move into the holidays, we want to express our appreciation for all of the meaningful messages of support we have received from you and want to update all of our loyal cast and crew on our progress and where things currently stand.
We continue to work with Netflix with the hope of resuming production soon. As we continue these discussions, we have determined together that the crew will be paid for an additional two week hiatus – beginning on November 27th and continuing through December 8th.
In addition to the writers, there will be a small contingency of office/accounting staff who will remain in the production office on a continuous basis. Our hope is that the entire crew will be able to reconvene when production resumes, but we want you to know that we will certainly understand if crew members need to find other work in the interim, which will prevent them from re-joining us. We sincerely appreciate all you have done.
Cast and other union members who are not actively working will be paid in accordance with applicable union guidelines through this period and we will be reaching out directly to your representatives to work through the details; we will get to everyone as quickly as possible and appreciate all of your patience here.
These last two months have tested and tried all of us in ways none of us could have foreseen. The one thing we have learned throughout this process is that this production is bigger than just one person and we could not be more proud to be associated with one of the most loyal and talented production cast and crews in this business.
We will provide an additional update by 12/8/17.
Writers have been working behind-the-scenes to come up with a way to remove Spacey's character Frank Underwood from the show, and as of now it seems that when the show returns to production, Spacey will not be involved. After Spacey's suspension from the show was announced, rumors surfaced that writers were planning on killing his character off, although contractual issues may prevent this from happening. One way or another, it appears the final season of House of Cards will be made. The question is: will anyone want to watch it?