House of Cards was a great show if you’re at all interested in politics or the political process. Not that I’m saying it perfectly represents either, but it is a lot of fun to watch and realistic in that one could easily imagine things working just like they do in the show.
Kevin Spacey stars as the Democratic House Majority leader Francis Underwood who feels spurned by the incoming Democratic president. Having given so much to his campaign, and been promised the Secretary of State position, when it wasn’t given to him he had some bones to pick. But being D.C., you can’t really pick them publicly or up front.
The show then follows his schemes, plays, and attempts to subvert the presidency and covertly implement his own agenda, regardless of who he steps on in the process.
There’s not much violence, only a little sex, and not a lot of action in the form of action a show like 24 brings you, but the mental games being played between characters, and constantly shifting interpersonal relationships are more than enough to keep the watcher intrigued and guessing about what will come next.
Throughout the series, several other main characters emerge, the most important of whom is journalist Zoe Barnes played by the lovely Kate Mara. Zoe is an up-and-coming, but struggling journalist at The Washington Herald, a fictional paper headquartered in DC. The paper’s livelihood centers around DC and the goings on there, and Ms. Barnes’ aspirations lead her to use her cunning and wiles to forge a mutually beneficial relationship with Congressman Underwood.
She gets scoops from him, and he uses her soap box to shine a light in the places he needs exposed for continuing to further his personal agenda.
The show is a Netflix exclusive, episodes run about 45 minutes and the 13 episode first season finished this past year, and was good enough to earn itself 9 Emmy nominations (while it didn’t win any of them, the credibility from the nomination alone was important for Netflix’s real first big original success) The second season is in production, and expected out in 2014.