UPDATE: Filming on the sixth and final season of Netflix’s House of Cards has been suspend indefinitely, according to Deadline.
Netflix and MCR released a joint statement about their decision Tuesday.
“MRC and Netflix have decided to suspend production on House of Cards season six, until further notice, to give us time to review the current situation and to address any concerns of our cast and crew,” the two companies said in a joint statement.
It’s unclear at this point if Season 6 of House of Cards will ever air on Netflix.
Original story: Netflix is currently in production on the sixth and final season of House of Cards, which stars Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright.
Spacey plays Frank Underwood, a devious congressman who ascends to the role of president of the United States through a series of complex machinations. The program launched back in 2013, and is an adaptation of a British series and Michael Dobbs novel of the same name.
The final run of House of Cards, which has earned 46 Emmy nominations and six wins to date, will debut its last 13 episodes in 2018.
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The news of the cancellation comes as allegations of unwanted sexual advances in 1986 by Spacey against a then-teenage Anthony Rapp emerged.
Netflix and producer Media Rights Capital released a statement on Spacey on Monday, saying, “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.”
In an interview with BuzzFeed, actor Rapp (Star Trek: Discovery, Dazed and Confused) said Spacey befriended him while they both performed on Broadway shows.
Rapp was 14 when he attended a party at Spacey’s apartment in 1986, he said. At the end of the night, an inebriated Spacey picked him up, placed him on his bed and climbed on top of him, Rapp said.
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Rapp said the 26-year-old was holding him down tightly, but he was able to get away and left the apartment.
Rapp, who is now 46, said he came forward after allegations against Harvey Weinstein sparked conversations about sexual abuse and harassment in the entertainment industry.
Spacey took to Twitter on Sunday and said he is “beyond horrified” by allegations that he made sexual advances on a teen boy decades ago.
READ MORE: Robin Wright demanded — and got — equal pay to Kevin Spacey in ‘House of Cards’
The two-time Oscar winner posted on Twitter that he doesn’t remember the encounter.
“But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behaviour, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years,” he said.
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Spacey also took the opportunity to set the record straight about his sexuality.
“I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man,” he said.
The Oscar winner’s statement was met with criticism, with GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis saying, “Coming-out stories should not be used to deflect from allegations of sexual assault.”
House of Cards creator Beau Willimon responded to the Spacey allegations in a statement released Monday. Willimon called the allegations “troubling” but said he was unaware of any inappropriate behaviour during his time on the Netflix drama. He exited the show at the end of its fourth season in 2016.
“Anthony Rapp’s story is deeply troubling. During the time I worked with Kevin Spacey on House of Cards, I neither witnessed nor was aware of any inappropriate behavior on set or off,” he said in a statement. “That said, I take reports of such behavior seriously and this is no exception. I feel for Mr. Rapp and I support his courage.”
— With files from the Associated Press