‘House of Cards’ extends production hiatus amid Kevin Spacey investigation

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “House of Cards” has extended its production hiatus, in the wake of the ongoing investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against series star Kevin Spacey.The Netflix drama, which is currently in production on its sixth and final season, has been on hiatus since news first broke of Spacey’s alleged misconduct. Producers are exploring ways to write Spacey’s character out of the show, as well as a possible spinoff of “House of Cards.” The actor was suspended from the production on November 3.READ MORE: Kevin Spacey enters treatment facility in midst of scandalIn a letter sent to the cast and crew by Media Rights Capital, producers informed them that the hiatus has been extended an additional two weeks, through December 8th, and the crew will continue to be paid during the break.WATCH: Former TV anchor says Kevin Spacey sexually assaulted her son

1:29 Former TV anchor says Kevin Spacey sexually assaulted her son

“These last two months have tested and tried all of us in ways none of us could have foreseen,” read the letter. “The one thing we have learned throughout this process is that this production is bigger than just one person and we could not be more proud to be associated with one of the most loyal and talented production cast and crews in this business.”Here’s the full text of the letter:

Dear Cast and Crew, As we move into the holidays, we want to express our appreciation for all of the meaningful messages of support we have received from you and want to update all of our loyal cast and crew on our progress and where things currently stand.We continue to work with Netflix with the hope of resuming production soon. As we continue these discussions, we have determined together that the crew will be paid for an additional two week hiatus – beginning on November 27th and continuing through December 8th.In addition to the writers, there will be a small contingency of office/accounting staff who will remain in the production office on a continuous basis. Our hope is that the entire crew will be able to reconvene when production resumes, but we want you to know that we will certainly understand if crew members need to find other work in the interim, which will prevent them from re-joining us. We sincerely appreciate all you have done.Cast and other union members who are not actively working will be paid in accordance with applicable union guidelines through this period and we will be reaching out directly to your representatives to work through the details; we will get to everyone as quickly as possible and appreciate all of your patience here.These last two months have tested and tried all of us in ways none of us could have foreseen. The one thing we have learned throughout this process is that this production is bigger than just one person and we could not be more proud to be associated with one of the most loyal and talented production cast and crews in this business.We will provide an additional update by 12/8/17.