It doesn't take much to see the calculus on this one. Over the weekend House of Cards star Kevin Spacey was hit with allegations from actor Anthony Rapp about sexual overtures made when he was just 14 years old. Spacey's "apology", which included him coming out as gay (In one of Hollywood's worst kept secrets), has been met with criticism for its lack of sincerity, and for seeming as a means of deflection. And now today comes word that Netflix has canceled House of Cards. Hey, how about that.
Netflix has confirmed that the next season of House of Cards, its sixth, will be its last. To be fair, it's possible Netflix was just ready to wrap things up, anyway. The show was one of the first to really put Netflix on the map, but with series creator and showrunner Beau Willimon leaving after the fifth season this may have always been the plan. In fact, that's exactly what THR says is the case, although the timing with Spacey's current scandal can't be ignored.
The sixth season is expected some time in 2018 with Melissa James Gibson and Frank Pugliese as the new showrunners. Check out the joint statement on recent events from Netflix and Media Rights Capital...
JUST IN: Joint statement from @netflix and Media Rights Capital on House of Cards production. https://t.co/8QQvd1eZXw pic.twitter.com/ELbFEpNiAD— Matt Wilstein (@mattwilstein) October 30, 2017
So while Spacey has yet to show up on set, House of Cards' future is already being planned. Variety reports that spinoffs are in the works for the political thriller, including one that would follow Frank Underwood's loyal right-hand man Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) that has former series exec-producer Eli Roth attached as writer. Two other ideas are being floated around as possibilities, as well.
So while House of Cards will be pulling out of the race next year, it may still live on in some form. I wouldn't expect to see any Kevin Spacey cameos, though.
