The story
Promised the post of Secretary of State and then passed over, South Carolina congressman Frank Underwood decides loyalty is for other people. With his equally ambitious wife Claire as partner and strategist, he starts working every lever in Washington – brokering deals, steering legislation and feeding stories to a young reporter – in a long game aimed at real power. Frank often turns to the camera to let viewers in on the scheme.
Why it matters
The first series a studio produced for Netflix, House of Cards was ordered straight to two seasons with no pilot and released a whole season at once. It became the first online-only streaming series to earn major Emmy nominations, and its opening episode became the first web-first episode to win a Primetime Emmy.
Notable facts
- Netflix outbid HBO, Showtime and AMC for the project and ordered 26 episodes across two seasons without asking for a pilot. (source)
- David Fincher's directing win for the pilot, "Chapter 1", made it the first Primetime Emmy-awarded webisode. (source)
- Robin Wright became the first actress to win a Golden Globe for an online-only streaming series. (source)
- After Netflix cut ties with Kevin Spacey in November 2017, the final season was shortened to eight episodes with Wright in the lead. (source)