A new show about Washington, DC will premiere on Friday except you won’t be able to find it on any network or premium cable channel. House of Cards starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright among others will be found exclusively on Netflix. The network reportedly spent $100M to produce the series which will release all 13 episodes of its first season this Friday. Netflix has already ordered a second 13 episode season. The remake of a 90’s BBC miniseries will revolve around Francis Underhill (Spacey), a Democratic majority whip who doesn’t get his promised cabinet position in a new Presidential administration. Knowing his way around the political game, he and his wife Claire (Wright), show their cunning, ruthlessness, and political prowess in their quest to achieve ultimate power.
If the show sounds dark then I don’t need to tell you that David Fincher (Social Network, Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) and Beau Willimon (Farragut North) have a hand in the show as director and writer. At the show’s Washington, DC premiere at the Newseum I got a chance to talk with Willimon, who was nominated for an Oscar two years ago for writing the Ides of March, and he told me that he actually has a positive outlook on DC despite the dark nature of the show. He also expressed his support for the local theatre scene, describing it as “inspirational.”
Spacey also commented on Netflix’s exploration into the next waive of TV viewing, saying that they will have a chance to do what the music industry should have done.
Take a peek below at Willimon’s and Spacey’s remarks at the Red Carpet premiere from last night. Will House of Cards fall nicely into the current DC TV spectrum of Homeland, Scandal, and Veep? We’ll find out this weekend.
Patrick has been blogging since before it was called blogging. At We Love DC Patrick covers local Theatre, and whatever catches his eye. Patrick’s blog stories, rants, and opinions have been featured in The Washington City Paper, Washington Post Express, CNN, Newschannel 8 Washington, and NBC Washington. See why Patrick loves DC.
You can e-mail him at ppho [at] welovedc.com
