Is it a House of Cards?
Netflix rewrites TV history with first "made-for-connected" series
Holey moley.
Did you feel the earth move under your feet? The TV business has been shaken – not delicately stirred – by news that Netflix is now in the original programming business.
Actor/producer Kevin Spacey (American Beauty) and director/producer David Fincher (The Social Network) have joined forces to produce the very first made-for-connected-television series — a political thriller called House of Cards — that will only be accessible via streaming from Netflix by its subscribers.
Mama, I know what I want for Christmas.
According to TheWrap, there is a commitment to 26 episodes (that’s two 13-episode seasons), which is a huge number. Netflix beat out both HBO and AMC to acquire the series which will begin late next year.
Based on the novel of the same name by Michael Dobbs, House of Cards was originally a British television series set at the end of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s tenure and revolved around a man who was privy to every secret in politics and was willing to betray everyone to take Thatcher’s place. The Netflix version will move to the United States with Spacey as the man with his eye on our nation's top spot, the presidency.
Traditional TV network executives must be trembling in their boots. “Television” series, as we know them, just flew out the window and onto the Internet.
By the end of 2012 we won’t be asking, “What’s on TV tonight? We might be asking, “What’s on Netflix?”
