Netflix has announced that House of Cards, Kevin Spacey's hit political drama, will no longer be produced after its next season airs. The sixth season was expected to the the last before these allegations surfaced. Less than a full day after Spacey was accused and apologized for allegedly climbing on top of a 14-year-old and sexually harassing him, the streaming service is taking no chances. Season 6 of House of Cards is set to air in 2018, and after that, no further seasons will be made. The show will end for certain, without speculation of a Season 7, as Netflix seems to not want to associate with Kevin Spacey. Media Rights Capital, which produces the show for Netflix, said: "Media Rights Capital and Netflix are deeply troubled by last night's news concerning Kevin Spacey...In response to last night's revelations, executives from both of our companies arrived in Baltimore this afternoon to meet with our cast and crew to ensure that they continue to feel safe and supported. As previously scheduled, Kevin Spacey is not working on set at this time." Spacey said in his apology: "I have a lot of respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp as an actor. I’m beyond horrified to hear his story. I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago. But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate, drunken behavior, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years." Many found Spacey's apology unconvincing, as he went on to come out as gay, leading many to critique him for hiding behind his sexual identity to cover his potentially criminal actions.

The allegations of sexual assault, harassment and misconduct leveled against producer Harvey Weinstein were bad enough, but the revelations about his case led to many other people coming forward about their own stories of abuse at the hands of Hollywood's most powerful men. After actor Anthony Rapp accused Kevin Spacey of being inappropriate with him when he was only 14 years old, with one event ending with the older man "laying down on top of him", the House of Cards actor became the subject of public scrutiny. These claims were further strengthened by numerous other people who came forward to speak about Spacey's behavior, leading to his popularity with audiences plummeting. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/Ba26hBGlZvX/?taken-by=kevinspacey]] Not long after, the director of Spacey's latest movie All The Money In The World made a bold decision. Ridley Scott surprised many by conducting extensive reshoots for the already-finished movie, completely replacing Spacey with Christopher Plummer last minute. The reshoots themselves sparked a debate about the pay gap in Hollywood, but most audiences were glad that such a decision was made. It has left some other productions in a sticky situation, however, especially when it comes to the TV series House of Cards. Many wondered whether Netflix would just cancel the show, given how much it focused on the Spacey's character, Frank Underwood. Instead, they announced their intentions to move forward with the sixth and final season of the show without Spacey at all. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BCeGzk5ilI5/?taken-by=kevinspacey]] In early 2017, it was revealed that the cost of the streaming service severing its relationship with him being in the millions. For its fourth fiscal quarter, it announced a write-down of $39 million. And while the reasons for this reduction in value weren't stated, a source familiar with the accounting in this case confirmed that "the write-down accounted for the final episodes of House of Cards". [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BTDElSLjOJ8/?taken-by=kevinspacey]] "These types of business write-downs are an ongoing facet … of producing content," Netflix CFO David Wells stated. "We just hadn’t had one of this magnitude and related to the societal reset around sexual harassment, so it was somewhat unusual in that respect." [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BWfgyVpjN4k/?taken-by=kevinspacey]] So how will they move forward? It has been previously said that they would go ahead with lead actress Robin Wright headlining the final season. But now the production has named its latest replacements to fill the gap left by Spacey's departure from the project, with two respected actors joining the fray. As production began on the final eight episodes this week, it was revealed that both Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear will be joining the next series. They will join returning cast members Michael Kelly, Patricia Clarkson, Constance Zimmer, Jayne Atkinson, Derek Cecil and Campbell Scott. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/nVK31pur5g/?hl=en&taken-by=gregkinnearfans]] [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BejsJs6Hdtr/?hl=en&taken-by=dianelanereal]] Kinnear was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for As Good As It Gets in 1998, while Lane was nominated for Best Actress for her film Unfaithful. No official description of their characters has been confirmed yet, but they are said to play "key roles", with some reports saying that they will play brother and sister. There has been no premiere date announced to the public yet, with many wondering exactly how it's all going to work. We'll have to wait and see.

When news broke last year that Kevin Spacey had committed a number of historical acts of abuse on young men and boys, his fans were left with a number of questions. How had this been allowed to happen for so long? Why had he ever thought it was okay for him to assault and harass so many people? Was this the end of his career? And, while those first two still remain conundrums today, the answer to the final question seems almost undoubtedly to be "yes".

Mere weeks after the story broke, Spacey was edited out of Ridley Scott's All the Money in the World after it had finished filming, and it didn't take long for Netflix to drop the actor from their books, either.

"Netflix will not be involved with any further production of House of Cards that includes Kevin Spacey," a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement at the time. "We will continue to work with MRC during this hiatus time to evaluate our path forward as it relates to the show. We have also decided we will not be moving forward with the release of the film Gore, which was in post-production, starring and produced by Kevin Spacey."

By that point, however, production was already underway on the hit series, and so many wondered what would become of the show.

Eventually, it was revealed that the show would go on without him - but only now do we know exactly how Frank Underwood gets written out. Unfortunately, it isn't all that creative, as you can see from this teaser trailer shared on Twitter:

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/HouseofCards/status/1037332019745681409]]

Given the circumstances, it was probably for the best that Spacey's character was axed from the production. However, given recent comments from the now-leading actress, Robin Wright, people aren't sure about her taking over the main character role, either.

In an interview earlier this week, Spacey's former co-star said that the actor should be given another chance.

"I believe every human being has the ability to reform … In that sense, second chances, or whatever you are going to call it – absolutely, I believe in that. It’s called growth," she said.

She then went on to say that she felt pity for her former co-star, and, indeed, anyone else who has been in a similar position.

"I feel sorry for anybody whose life is in the public arena. It’s a nightmare, can you imagine? We do a job, we share [a performance] with viewers. Why does our private life have to be public? I hate that part of this industry. It’s so invasive.

"I believe everyone’s personal life should be personal. Positive, negative, neutral, whatever – I don’t believe it should be anybody’s business. But I’m not talking about [the #MeToo] movement – I’m talking about media. The exposure. It’s an awful feeling. A stranger deciding they know who you are … I mean, it’s criminal, it really is."

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Meanwhile, a lot of fans are just downright angry that Spacey's character has been killed off - meaning, presumably, that they think a TV show is more important than keeping vulnerable people safe and setting a precedent of punishing abusers.

Whether the show will actually manage to attain the levels of success it had in its previous five seasons remains to be seen - but it looks like we'll find out very soon.

Kevin Spacey hasn't posted on social media since October 30, 2017, when he issued a statement to actor Anthony Rapp. Rapp accused Spacey of sexual misconduct at a party in 1986, when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26. Spacey said he didn't remember the encounter, but offered his "sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior." He ended his apology by coming out as gay, which earned widespread criticism from the LGBTQ community. (Really, dude? You choose this moment to do that?)

After Rapp's accusation, at least 14 other men came forward, accusing Spacey of various acts of sexual misconduct and sexual abuse. As a result, Netflix fired Spacey from their flagship series House of Cards, where he played ruthless corrupt politician Frank Underwood. The creative team scrambled to rewrite the sixth and final season, choosing to kill Frank off-camera and focus on his wife, Claire Underwood, played by Robin Wright. (A dicey prospect, since the entire show was about Frank, and the allure of a final season is seeing him finally get his comeuppance. Why not just recast the role?)

[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZveA-NAIDI]]

On Monday, Spacey broke his silence, publishing a bizarre video on YouTube entitled "Let Me Be Frank." In the three-minute clip, the disgraced actor reprises his role of Frank Underwood, addressing the viewer directly just like he used to do on the series. (And since it's Christmas, he wears a festive Santa Claus apron.)

The video appears to have two purposes: Spacey comments on his character getting unceremoniously killed off the Netflix show, and addresses the various claims of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct:

“I know what you want. Oh sure, they have tried to separate us but what we have is too strong, too powerful. After all, we shared everything, you and I. I told you my deepest darkest secrets. I showed you exactly what people are capable of. I shocked you with my honesty. But mostly, I challenged you and made you think. And you trusted me, even though you knew you shouldn’t. So we’re not done, no matter what anyone says. And besides, I know what you want. You want me back...

"Of course, some believed everything and have just been waiting with bated breath to hear me confess it all. They’re just dying to have me declare that everything said is true and that I got what I deserved. Wouldn’t that be easy? If it was all so simple. Only you and I both know it’s never that simple, not in politics, not in life. But you wouldn’t believe the worst without evidence would you? You wouldn’t rush to judgement without facts, would you? Did you? No, not you. You’re smarter than that...

"Anyway, all this presumption made for such an unsatisfying ending. And to think, it could have been such a memorable send-off."

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The video arrives on the same day as reports that Spacey faces a felony charge of sexual assault. As reported by Variety, in July 2016, Boston journalist Heather Unruh accused Spacey of sexually assaulting her 18-year-old son at a Nantucket, Massachusetts bar. After her son told Spacey that he was 21, Spacey allegedly gave him several drinks and grabbed his genitals.

"I want to see Kevin Spacey go to jail," Unruh told reporters at a press conference in November 2017. "I want to see Kevin Spacey have the hand of justice come down on him, not just for my son but for the many others who have yet to speak their truth."

Spacey is scheduled to be arraigned on a charge of indecent assault and battery on January 7. So far, The Strange Return of Frank Underwood has not gotten many positive reviews on Twitter:

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Maybe it wasn't the greatest choice to address sexual assault allegations by playing Frank Underwood, a lying, murdering sociopath. He should've brought back K-PAX instead!

Things just keep getting worse for Kevin Spacey. After apologizing for possibly (he was drunk and doesn't recall) sexually harassing a 14-year-old actor named Anthony Rapp, the famous actor is now being accused of sexual harassment by eight of his fellow staffers and employees on House of Cards. It seems that Mr. Spacey never quit allegedly sexually harassing his fellow male actors. These eight people spoke to CNN, and several of their stories were detailed in print. A former production assistant describes a pretty traumatizing story of sexual assault, where he was picking up Kevin Spacey to drive him to a shooting site for the show. The production assistant had to drive him into Baltimore for 30 miles, when he alleges that Spacey reached down his pants while he was driving. "I was in a state of shock. He was a man in a very powerful position on the show and I was someone very low on the totem pole and on the food chain there." Later, inside a trailer on the show's set, Spacey stopped him from leaving. Physically blocking him inside the trailer and making "inappropriate contact" with his body, the assistant finally said: "I don't think I'm ok with this, I don't think I'm comfortable with this." At that point, Spacey, embarrassed, left the trailer in a huff. Eventually, he told a supervisor about what had happened, and from that point on, Spacey and the production assistant were not allowed to be alone together any longer on set. The assistant said: "I have no doubt that this type of predatory behavior was routine for him and that my experience was one of many and that Kevin had few if any qualms about exploiting his status and position. It was a toxic environment for young men who had to interact with him at all in the crew, cast, background actors." A member of the crew who had worked on all six of the show's seasons also had a Spacey story. He said: "He would put his hands on me in weird ways. He would come in and massage my shoulders from behind or put his hands around me or touch my stomach sometimes in weird ways that in normal everyday conversation would not be appropriate...that's the worst part about this whole thing. I would love to be able to speak out about this kind of stuff and not fear." A former assistant who did camerawork on the show said: "All the crew members commented on his behavior. What gets me is we have to sign sexual harassment paperwork before the start of the show and apparently [Spacey] doesn't have to do anything and he gets away scott-free with this behavior." "Who is going to believe crew members?" he lamented. "You're going to get fired." A representative for MRC, the company which produces House of Cards for Netflix, said: "We are deeply troubled to learn about these new allegations that are being made to the press concerning Kevin Spacey's interaction with members of the crew of House of Cards. As the producer of the show, creating and maintaining a safe working environment for our cast and crew has always been our top priority. We have consistently reinforced the importance of employees reporting any incident without fear of retaliation and we have investigated and taken appropriate actions following any complaints. For example, during our first year of production in 2012, someone on the crew shared a complaint about a specific remark and gesture made by Kevin Spacey. Immediate action was taken following our review of the situation and we are confident the issue was resolved promptly to the satisfaction of all involved. Mr. Spacey willingly participated in a training process and since that time MRC has not been made aware of any other complaints involving Mr. Spacey."