The big news out of the TV world a week ago was that Netflix—the wildly popular online streaming service—ordered a third season of its hit streaming show House of Cards. While not surprising, the news was notable in that it was announced prior to the 13-episode show’s much-anticipated second season, which debuts Friday, a signal, perhaps, that Netflix is quite confident that viewers will latch on to its sophomore season, as it did—religiously, actually—when the drama first hit our computers, phones and tablets a year ago.
House of Cards’ meteoric rise is no hyperbole; the political thriller starring Kevin Spacey, a conniving Democratic congressman with an unquenchable thirst for power, and Robin Wright, his equally scheming wife, became the first Netflix-exclusive show to rattle the TV industry and its network partners, who load up our screens with so much content nowadays that many storylines are beginning to closely resemble one another.
But House of Cards would never land on any of those networks, anyway. Which is probably a good thing.
The appeal of Netflix-exclusive shows like House of Cards and even Orange is the New Black, is the option to view an entire season on our own schedule—no network telling us when to sit on our couch and no reason to scrub that DVR clean just so we can record each episode. (Netflix announced that the entire season will be released in one hearty helping.)
For those unfortunate souls who have yet to experience House of Cards, we won’t ruin it by publishing any spoilers—though there’s really no excuse for waiting this long.
But thanks to information regarding the new season provided by Netflix in its press release and through several trailers, we know that Spacey’s character (Francis Underwood) will continue to work the dirty halls—and probably some back alleys—of Washington D.C. to further his ambitions.
In fact, Underwood is so effective as a political animal that President Barack Obama was quoted in December as saying: “I wish things were that ruthlessly efficient.”
That off-the-cuff remark during a meeting with heads of tech companies, prompted this Tweet from Spacey:
President @BarackObama, to help achieve ruthless efficiency, a copy of Frank’s new book ‘How to Kick Ass & Influence Congress’ is on its way
— Kevin Spacey (@KevinSpacey) December 18, 2013
Coming along for the ride is his wife Claire, played by Wright, and Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara), a tenacious reporter who doesn’t mind crossing any ethical lines of journalism if it means nailing an exclusive and one-upping her competition.
Viewers will probably see much of the same from the Underwoods and Barnes this season, though teasers hint at some of Underwood’s transgressions possibly interrupting what he probably sees as his eventual ascent to the throne.
We doubt it. But there’s only one way to find out. So join us on Valentine’s Day as we welcome Francis, Claire and Zoe back into our lives.
