“House of Cards” will end after its sixth season.
David Giesbrecht/NetflixFrancis Underwood’s getting the boot.
“House of Cards,” the popular Netflix series, will end next year after its upcoming sixth season. The show, the first original series distributed by the streaming giant, features Kevin Spacey as Underwood, a scheming politician.
The news of the cancellation comes the day after Spacey was accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward a minor three decades ago. Anthony Rapp, a Broadway actor and “Star Trek: Discovery” star, told Buzzfeed that Spacey made the advances when 46-year-old Rapp was 14. (CBS, which broadcasts “Star Trek: Discovery” on its CBS All Access service, also owns CNET.)
According to the report, Spacey “invited Rapp over to his apartment for a party, and, at the end of the night, picked Rapp up, placed him on his bed, and climbed on top of him, making a sexual advance.” Spacey was 26 at the time.
Spacey responded to the allegation later Sunday by tweeting that doesn’t remember the incident. He apologized but attributed it to “inappropriate drunken behavior.” Spacey also came out as gay in the statement, something that has reportedly upset gay rights activists and others who saw it as a way to deflect the allegations against him.
Netflix said in a statement:
“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.”
Netlfix told TVLine that it had reached the decision to end the show before the accusations against Spacey were made. News of the cancellation, however, didn’t come out until after the Spacey story surfaced.
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