The show must go on. House of Cards will resume filming its final season early next year, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The season will be re-written to exclude Kevin Spacey's character Frank Underwood. THR reports that the final season will focus on Robin Wright's character Claire Underwood, a series regular since the beginning of the show.
The future of House of Cards has been in flux ever since Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct in late October of this year. House of Cards suspended production on October 31, shortly after Buzzfeed published actor Anthony Rapp's account of sexual assault at the hands of Spacey.
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"MRC and Netflix have decided to suspend production on House of Cards season six, until further notice, to give us time to review the current situation and to address any concerns of our cast and crew," Netflix and the production company Media Rights Capital said in a joint statement, Deadline reported at the time. More allegations continued to emerge, including some from several crew members who worked on House of Cards.
Days later, Netflix severed ties with Spacey and said it would evaluate what to do with the show. In early November, producers extended the production hiatus to December 8. Now, it is definite that the show will return, albeit for only 8 episodes. Netflix planned to film a 13 episode season and sources told THR that the show was almost entirely written when the allegations surfaced.
"We are excited to bring closure to fans," Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos said Monday.
Shifting the focus to Claire Underwood should be easy, actually. Season 5, which debuted in April, ended with Claire assuming the presidency after Frank Underwood steps down. Frank asks his new president for a presidential pardon for his actions of the season, and, on live television, she neglects to excuse his actions. When Frank calls her angrily, she looks into the camera and says, "My turn."
It might not be how the writers imagined it at first, but Claire Underwood is actually going to get her turn.
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