Netflix is becoming quite a force in the entertainment industry. Last week that position was solidified in the announcement that the online service would stream House of Cards, an original new drama series from David Fincher (The Social Network, Se7en, Fight Club) and starring Oscar winner Kevin Spacey.
House of Cards will debut in late 2012 exclusively on Netflix in the U.S. and Canada. This will be the service's first original series. There's no word on whether Netflix will continue to acquire more original programming. However, it certainly seems like they want to move even further away from delivering DVDs to the home. In the past few months, Netflix has launched a streaming-only subscription option, as well as sealing deals with CBS and Disney-ABC, which will allow the service to stream even more content.
Both Netflix and Media Rights Capital have committed to a minimum of 26 episodes of House of Cards. Fincher will direct the pilot, before slipping into an executive producer role.
Based on the book and BBC miniseries of the same name, House of Cards is a modern-day political drama. Spacey, who is best known for his Oscar-winning performances in The Usual Suspects and American Beauty, will play the main character, an ambitious politician.
"The gripping, serialized one hour drama has become a very important part of the Netflix experience," said Ted Sarandos, Netflix's chief content officer. "David Fincher's unique vision, the indelible performances of Kevin Spacey and the original version of House of Cards, all have a big following among our members, giving the series a very good chance of becoming a fan favorite. We are thrilled to be working with this amazing team."
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