Netflix came out and made a heartbreaking announcement that the House of Cards will end after the next season (Season Six).
This news came hot on the heels of actor Anthony Rapp telling BuzzFeed that Kevin Spacey, the House of Cards star, made a sexual advancement when he (Anthony Rapp) was only 14-years-old. Although the TVLine reports that the decision to stop more production of the show was not in any way hinged to Rapp’s allegation. The decision was reached a couple of months before these allegations surfaced.
After the allegations made by Rapp surfaced, Spacey responded: “I honestly do not remember the encounter. If I did behave the way describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.”
It was during that statement that Spacey came out as a gay man, a move that might have been backfired judging from the criticism it attracted.
Both Netflix and production house Media Rights Capital released a press statement said:
“Media Rights Capital and Netflix are deeply troubled by last night’s news concerning Kevin Spacey. In response to last night’s revelations, executives from both of our companies arrived in Baltimore this afternoon to meet with our cast and crew to ensure that they continue to feel safe and supported. As previously scheduled, Kevin Spacey is not working on set at this time.”
House of Cards first aired in 2013 on Netflix and was the first big bet on original content. Netflix paid MRC some $100 million for exclusive rights for the first two seasons, and it won a number of awards including seven Emmys.
It might be important to note the creator and showrunner Beau Willimon left after the fourth season and is now working on another show on Hulu.