House of Cards was built on one star; his fall cost Netflix $39 million and a rewrite

House of Cards was Netflix's founding original. The political drama that launched in 2013 made the streamer an Emmy contender and Kevin Spacey's Frank Underwood its most recognisable face: the show, its awards run and its identity all ran through him.

In late October 2017 allegations of misconduct against Spacey surfaced and spread. Netflix suspended production, and after co-CEO Ted Sarandos' decision on 2 November to scrap two episodes already in production and start over, Netflix announced it would sever ties with the actor 'following several allegations of misconduct'.

The rebuild cost cash and content. Netflix took a $39 million charge in its fourth-quarter earnings for 'unreleased content we've decided not to move forward with' — including a Gore Vidal biopic starring Spacey that was scrapped in post-production. The sixth and final season of House of Cards was rebuilt around Robin Wright's character, truncated from 13 episodes to eight, and premiered in November 2018 without its lead.

The money fight followed. MRC, the production company behind House of Cards, pursued a claim against Spacey, and in October 2020 an arbitrator found his behaviour a material breach of his acting and executive producing agreements, awarding MRC about $29.5 million in damages plus costs and fees — nearly $31 million in total, confirmed by a Los Angeles judge in August 2022. In July 2023 a jury at Southwark Crown Court in London cleared Spacey of nine charges, but the franchise and the award were already banked.

Netflix scrapped two episodes and rebuilt the final season without its lead, taking a $39M charge; MRC's arbitration later won a $31M award against Spacey.

Netflix built its founding franchise on one actor: the show, its awards run and its identity ran through Spacey, so the moment he became untouchable, the product had to be rebuilt mid-season.

The unwinding was expensive because the dependency was total: scrapping two episodes, rewriting the final season without its lead and shelving a Gore biopic added up to a $39 million charge.

MRC's contract did its job: the arbitration win — a material-breach finding and a nearly $31 million award — showed that when a star's conduct kills a production, the star pays, not the studio.

The legal clock ran slower than the business: the London acquittal came in 2023, six years after the firing — the write-down, the truncated season and the award had all been banked by then.

A franchise built on one star is one scandal away from a rewrite: Netflix's founding show ran through Spacey, so his fall cost $39 million, a shortened final season and a $31 million award.

The final season of House of Cards, rebuilt around Robin Wright's character, premiered late 2018; the Gore biopic starring Spacey was never released. In October 2020 an arbitrator found Spacey in material breach of contract, awarding MRC nearly $31 million; a judge confirmed the award in 2022. In early 2024 Spacey settled for $1 million in installments, agreeing to testify in MRC's insurance case. On 26 July 2023 a London jury cleared him of all nine charges; he said he was 'humbled by the outcome'. Netflix had written off the $39 million; House of Cards ended without its star.