House of Cards (American TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids House of Cards |
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| Created by | Beau Willimon |
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| Music by | Jeff Beal |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 73 (list of episodes) |
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| Running time | 42–60 minutes |
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| Original network | Netflix |
| Original release | February 1, 2013 – November 2, 2018 |
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| Related shows | House of Cards |
House of Cards is an American TV show about politics and power. It was created by Beau Willimon. The series is based on a 1989 book by Michael Dobbs. It also takes ideas from a 1990 British TV show with the same name.
The first season, with 13 episodes, came out on February 1, 2013. It was released on Netflix, a streaming service. House of Cards was the first TV show made by a studio specifically for Netflix. This helped start the "streaming era" of television.
The story takes place in Washington, D.C.. It follows Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), a clever politician from South Carolina. His equally ambitious wife, Claire Underwood (Robin Wright), helps him. Frank is not chosen for a big job he wanted. So, he makes a big plan to gain more power. The show explores how people try to get power and make smart plans.
House of Cards was very popular and won many awards. It received 33 nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award. This included nominations for Best Drama Series and acting awards for Spacey and Wright. It was the first online-only show to get such major Emmy nominations. The show also earned eight Golden Globe Award nominations. Robin Wright won for Best Actress in 2014, and Kevin Spacey won for Best Actor in 2015.
In 2017, the main actor, Kevin Spacey, left the show. The sixth and final season was made and released in 2018 without him. Robin Wright became the main star of the last season.
Contents
Meet the Characters in House of Cards
- Kevin Spacey as Francis J. "Frank" Underwood: He is a politician from South Carolina. He starts as a House Majority Whip. Then he becomes Vice President and later the 46th President of the United States. (seasons 1–5)
- Robin Wright as Claire Underwood: Frank's wife. She starts a clean water organization. Later, she becomes Second Lady, then U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. She also becomes First Lady and eventually the 47th President of the United States.
- Michael Kelly as Douglas "Doug" Stamper: He is Frank Underwood's very loyal chief of staff and trusted friend.
- Jayne Atkinson as Catherine "Cathy" Durant: A Senator from Louisiana and later the Secretary of State.
- Corey Stoll as Peter Russo: A Congressman from Pennsylvania. (season 1; guest season 4)
- Kate Mara as Zoe Barnes: A reporter who works closely with Frank Underwood. She helps him share information with the public. (season 1; guest seasons 2 and 4)
- Sandrine Holt as Gillian Cole: She leads an organization that provides clean water. (season 1; guest season 2)
- Kristen Connolly as Christina Gallagher: A congressional staffer and assistant. (seasons 1–2)
- Rachel Brosnahan as Rachel Posner: A woman trying to improve her life. (seasons 1–3)
- Sebastian Arcelus as Lucas Goodwin: An editor at The Washington Herald. (seasons 1–2 and 4)
- Mahershala Ali as Remy Danton: A lobbyist who worked for Frank before the series. He later becomes Frank's chief of staff for a time. (seasons 1–4)
- Nathan Darrow as Edward Meechum: A Capitol Police officer and the Underwoods' bodyguard and driver. (seasons 1–4)
- Reg E. Cathey as Freddy Hayes: The owner of Freddy's BBQ. He is one of Frank's few true friends. (seasons 1–4)
- Michel Gill as Garrett Walker: The 45th President of the United States. He trusts Frank as an advisor. (seasons 1–2, 4–5)
- Sakina Jaffrey as Linda Vasquez: President Walker's White House Chief of Staff. (seasons 1–2; guest season 6)
- Constance Zimmer as Janine Skorsky: A reporter for The Washington Herald. (seasons 1–2, 6; guest season 4)
- Gerald McRaney as Raymond Tusk: A very wealthy businessman with a lot of influence. (seasons 1–2, 4–5)
- Boris McGiver as Tom Hammerschmidt: The editor-in-chief of The Washington Herald. He investigates Frank's actions. (seasons 1–2, 4–6)
- Jimmi Simpson as Gavin Orsay: A computer hacker who helps Doug Stamper. (seasons 2–3)
- Mozhan Marnò as Ayla Sayyad: A reporter assigned to the White House. (seasons 2–3)
- Molly Parker as Jacqueline "Jackie" Sharp: A Congresswoman from California. (seasons 2–4)
- Elizabeth Marvel as Heather Dunbar: A lawyer who runs against Frank for president. (seasons 2–4)
- Derek Cecil as Seth Grayson: A political helper who becomes press secretary. (seasons 2–6)
- Paul Sparks as Thomas Yates: A successful author who writes for Frank and Claire. (seasons 3–5)
- Kim Dickens as Kate Baldwin: The chief political reporter for the Wall Street Telegraph. (seasons 3–5)
- Lars Mikkelsen as Viktor Petrov: The President of Russia. (seasons 3–6)
- Joel Kinnaman as Will Conway: The Republican Governor of New York. He runs for President against Frank. (seasons 4–5)
- Neve Campbell as LeAnn Harvey: A political consultant who manages the Underwoods' campaigns. (seasons 4–5)
- Dominique McElligott as Hannah Conway: The wife of Will Conway. (seasons 4–5)
- Damian Young as Aidan Macallan: A data scientist and friend of LeAnn Harvey. (seasons 4–5)
- Korey Jackson as Sean Jeffries: A young reporter at the Washington Herald. (season 5)
- James Martinez as Alex Romero: A Democratic congressman who investigates Frank. (season 5)
- Campbell Scott as Mark Usher: Conway's campaign manager. He later becomes Vice President under Claire Underwood. (seasons 5–6)
- Patricia Clarkson as Jane Davis: A government official who helps the Underwoods with secret deals. (seasons 5–6)
- Diane Lane as Annette Shepherd: A childhood friend of Claire's. She runs a big business that influences U.S. policy. (season 6)
- Greg Kinnear as Bill Shepherd: Annette's brother and co-head of Shepherd Unlimited. He is powerful in politics. (season 6)
- Cody Fern as Duncan Shepherd: Annette's son, who is also involved in D.C. power. (season 6)
Making the Show: Production Details
How the Idea Started
House of Cards was one of the first big shows to come out when streaming TV was becoming popular. A company called Media Rights Capital (MRC) bought the rights to the story. They wanted to make it into a TV series.
David Fincher, a famous director, was interested in the project. He had seen the original British House of Cards series. Fincher liked the idea of making a TV show because it allowed for more detailed characters than movies. He said, "The best writing for actors was happening in television."
MRC talked to different TV networks. But Netflix offered the most money because they wanted to start their own shows. Ted Sarandos, a Netflix executive, looked at what Netflix users liked to watch. He saw that there was a big audience for shows like the one Fincher and Spacey would make.
They needed a writer who understood politics. Beau Willimon, who had worked for politicians like Hillary Clinton, was hired. He wrote the first episode in 2011. Willimon saw a chance to create a new show based on the original story.
The show was first announced in March 2011. Kevin Spacey was set to star and help produce. Fincher was going to direct the first two episodes. Netflix ordered 26 episodes right away, for two seasons.
Spacey liked that Netflix released all episodes at once. He said it gave the show more continuity. He also noted that other networks wanted to see a test episode first. But Netflix trusted their data and ordered the full series. In 2016, Beau Willimon left the show after season 4. Frank Pugliese and Melissa James Gibson took over as showrunners.
Choosing the Actors
David Fincher said that all the main actors were their first choices. Kevin Spacey had not been a regular on a TV show since the late 1980s. But he liked the script for House of Cards. He had also played a powerful character, Richard III, on stage, which Fincher thought was good practice. Spacey was officially cast on March 18, 2011.
Robin Wright was asked by Fincher to join the show. They had worked together before on a movie. She was cast as Claire Underwood in June 2011. Kate Mara was cast as Zoe Barnes in early 2012. Kate's sister, Rooney Mara, had worked with Fincher. Kate loved the character of Zoe and asked her sister to put in a good word for her.
Where They Filmed
Filming for the first season started in January 2012 in Maryland, a state on the East Coast of the United States. Many outdoor scenes were filmed in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Baltimore is about 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Washington, D.C.
Many places in Baltimore were used to look like Washington, D.C. These included the Underwoods' house, Zoe Barnes' apartment, Freddy's BBQ, and The Washington Herald offices. Scenes for Peter Russo's campaign in Pennsylvania were also filmed there.
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Most indoor scenes were filmed in a large warehouse in Joppa, Maryland. This warehouse is about 17 miles (27 km) northeast of Baltimore. They built amazing sets inside, like a full-size copy of parts of the White House. This included the Oval Office and congressional offices. They also built the large 'Slugline' office and the Underwoods' home.
The show used special effects like green screen to make scenes look real. For example, when characters were in a car, they filmed them in front of a green screen. Then, they added views of the city outside the windows later. This made it look like the car was really moving through Washington, D.C.
In June 2014, the show tried to film in the UN Security Council chamber. But Russia stopped it at the last minute. However, they were able to film in other parts of the UN Building. The show also filmed in Washington, D.C., Española, Santa Fe, and Las Vegas, New Mexico.
The Final Season
On October 11, 2017, it was reported that House of Cards would have a sixth season. Netflix then announced that this would be the last season. On December 4, 2017, Ted Sarandos of Netflix said that Kevin Spacey was removed from the cast. Robin Wright would now be the main star. The final season would have eight episodes.
How House of Cards Was Released
Where to Watch the Show
In Australia, where Netflix was not available until 2015, the show first aired on a channel called Showcase. The entire first season was available to watch on demand. Season two also returned to Showcase. When Netflix launched in Australia in March 2015, House of Cards season 3 became available there.
In New Zealand, season 1 aired on TV3 in early 2014, followed by season 2. When Netflix launched in New Zealand in March 2015, House of Cards was not available right away.
In India, House of Cards premiered on Zee Café in February 2014. They aired seasons 1 and 2 back-to-back. The channel aired all 13 episodes of season 3 together in March 2015. This was the first time an English channel in India aired a whole season at once. Netflix launched in India in January 2016, but House of Cards was not available until March 4.
The show also aired in Canada on the CHCH channel starting in September 2017. It was later removed from their schedule. In the United Kingdom, House of Cards began airing on Virgin TV Ultra HD in September 2018.
Watching at Home
The seasons of House of Cards were released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Season 1 came out on June 11, 2013. The final season, season 6, was released on March 5, 2019.
Images for kids
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The title card for House of Cards.
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Kevin Spacey played Frank Underwood.
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Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley visited the set of House of Cards.
