Netflix's flagship drama series, House of Cards, was rocked after allegations of sexual assault regarding star Kevin Spacey emerged. Spacey has been fired from the show, which is currently on hiatus as the producers and writers try to figure out how best to move forward without Frank Underwood for House of Cards' sixth and final season. An official decision regarding the show's future direction was meant to have been made by Thanksgiving and now House of Cards' production company has released a statement to the cast and crew declaring the hiatus will last another two weeks.
Media Rights Capital senior vice president Pauline Micelli sent a letter to the cast and crew informing them that House of Cards will remain on hiatus for at least another couple of weeks, presumably so the creative team can continue to properly figure out the best ways to write Kevin Spacey's Frank Underwood out of the drama. The letter, which made its way to the press (via The Hollywood Reporter), informed personnel that they will be continue to be paid through the extension, which will will go from November 27 through December 8, while the writing staff and a "small contingency of office/accounting staff" will remain in the production offices on a continuous basis.
The letter ends with a rallying cry of sorts, with Pauline Micelli praising everyone for remaining patient and positive during this trying time, and that this experience was a learning experience to the end that the "production is bigger than just one person," and that the company could not be more proud to work with one of the "most loyal and talented production cast and crews in this business." Moreover, while MRC execs hope that every member of the crew will be available to reconvene when production eventually resumes, they understand that some may need to find new work in the hiatus, which would prevent them from joining Season 6.
While it is not outright stated, it seems that the goal will be to resume production following the hiatus' December 8 end date. House of Cards was originally supposed to wrap production on Season 6 in May of 2018, but it's unknown if that is still a feasible goal, or if that date will be also be pushed back further in the controversy's aftermath. The production and writing staff certainly have a tough job ahead of them, since eight months of script work had been completed before Kevin Spacey was dismissed from House of Cards. It's unknown whether or not a top-to-bottom rewrite was needed, or if only a minimal amount of work was needed to shift the narrative to solely center on Robin Wright's Claire Underwood, but it's an unenviable position to be in.
Kevin Spacey's Hollywood ousting is only one of many stories that have gone public following an increasingly long string of sexual assault and harassment allegagtions. In the TV world, several productions beyond House of Cards have had to grind to a halt or completely reshuffle themselves. The Arrow-verse's Andrew Kreisberg, Transparent's Jeffrey Tambor, and comedian Louis C.K. are just a few of the high-profile celebs whose alleged misconduct -- not just alleged in C.K.'s case -- is changing the entertainment landscape.
Stories continue to develop on a frequent basis, but if you'd like to enjoy some TV that's not dealing with hiatuses or abrupt endings, you can visit our fall TV premiere schedule and our midseason premiere schedule, while our cancellation guide will show you the shows that aren't coming back.
