There’s good news and bad news for fans of House of Cards today. Ahead of the show’s return to Netflix on March 4th, the online streaming service has confirmed that it will be back for a fifth season next year. However, it’s also been revealed that showrunner Beau Willimon will not be part of it as he’s apparently turning his attentions to writing an original play.
“Prior to its fourth season premiere, Netflix and [producers] Media Rights Capital are thrilled to announce that House of Cards will return for a fifth season in 2017. Concurrent with the renewal, creator and showrunner Beau Willimon is departing the critically acclaimed series,” Netlfix confirmed in a press release. “Netflix and MRC owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Beau Willimon for his strong narrative vision for House of Cards over the show’s first four seasons. As an Academy Award-nominated writer, he made his first foray into television and built a riveting and critically acclaimed series, establishing his place in TV history. The producers, cast and crew join us in wishing Beau the best in his next creative adventure.”
House of Cards’ third season wasn’t quite as critically acclaimed as those which preceded it, but fans of the political drama which stars Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright still loved it!
House of Cards is the series which helped put Netflix on the map when it comes to original programming, and the likes of Orange is the New Black, Daredevil, and Narcos would follow.
Plenty of shows have survived and flourished without their original showrunner, and while Willimon’s departure is a disappointment, more of Frank Underwood is no bad thing…
