Writers with the Netflix series House of Cards are reportedly scrambling to revamp the show’s final season in the wake of Kevin Spacey’s sexual misconduct allegations. There’s been a flurry of activity surrounding Spacey’s career following a bombshell report less than two weeks ago, where actor Anthony Rapp (Star Trek: Discovery) recounted a story from about 30 years ago alleging sexual misconduct against the Oscar-winning actor.
Netflix and House of Cards creator Beau Willimon quickly reacted to the allegations, with Willimon calling the allegations “deeply troubling,” and Netflix announcing that the sixth season of House of Cards – which was already in production at the time – would be the show’s last. However, as more allegations of sexual misconduct began to surface against Spacey – including claims from House of Cards crew members – Netflix and House of Cards production company Media Rights Capital halted production on the series, and eventually dismissed Spacey from the show altogether.
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Now, it appears that House of Cards showrunners Melissa James Gibson and Frank Pugliese are attempting to complete the sixth and final season without Spacey involved. According to CNN Money, sources close to House of Cards say that its unlikely the show will be canceled, and that writers are instead conceiving ideas of how to rewrite the show without Spacey’s cutthroat, corrupt President Francis J. Underwood.
One rumor that’s already been kicked around is that House of Cards will simply kill off the Frank Underwood character, which wouldn’t be that unreasonable of a solution. In the British series that House of Cards was based upon, Francis Urquhart – the equivalent to Spacey’s character – was shot and killed. Plus, such a move would open the door for Frank Underwood’s wife Claire (Robin Wright) to become the new main character, a solution many fans have voiced support for.
However, the House of Cards creative team ends up proceeding, it’ll still be up to Netflix and MRC to decide whether or not to resume production. While that does look likely to occur, one wonders if season 6’s previously planned May 2018 wrap date will need to be delayed, which could potentially cost all companies involved a good deal of money. House of Cards employs over 2,000 cast and crew members, and those people are still being paid while production is suspended. Due to contractual obligations, Netflix is likely to make an announcement about the show’s future before Thanksgiving.
