Production on the final season of “House of Cards” has at last resumed, Netflix announced Wednesday. Actors Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear are also joining the cast, now led by solely by Robin Wright as President Claire Underwood.
The show was put on indefinite hiatus in November after the personal implosion of series star Kevin Spacey, who stands accused of sexually assaulting numerous men including some when they were minors. (He has denied many of the accusations.)
While character details are under wraps, Lane and Kinnear will play siblings. They join returning cast members including Emmy nominee Michael Kelly, Jayne Atkinson, Patricia Clarkson, Derek Cecil, Campbell Scott and Boris McGiver.
Also returning is “UnReal” star Constance Zimmer, who played reporter Janine Skorksy — one of the only characters connected to the many misdoings of the Underwoods in earlier seasons. With eight Spacey-free episodes left to button up the show, stakes are presumably higher than ever.
Media Rights Capital, the studio behind the series, not only fired Spacey last fall but also suspended production on the final season to work out a new plan.
Melissa James Gibson and Frank Pugliese will return as showrunners. Wright, David Fincher, Joshua Donen, Eric Roth, Michael Dobbs, Andrew Davies and Spacey’s longtime business partner Dana Brunetti are executive producers.
In addition to supporting MRC’s firing of Spacey, Netflix shelved a completed film it had financed in which Spacey played late writer Gore Vidal.
That film and the “House of Cards” delay contributed to Netflix taking a $39 million write-down in its fourth quarter, CFO David Wells hinted during a recent earnings call. The comment could also have referred to other problematic content.
Lane is represented by UTA and Weintraub Tobin. Kinnear is represented by WME, attorney Rick Genow and Liz Mahoney.