House of Cards season 5 explained

Season Number:	5
Bgcolour:	b30e11
Showrunner:	Melissa James Gibson Frank Pugliese
Network:	Netflix
Num Episodes:	13
Episode List:	List of House of Cards episodes

The fifth season of House of Cards, an American political drama television series created by Beau Willimon for Netflix, was released on May 30, 2017. Frank Pugliese and Melissa James Gibson took over as showrunners in place of Willimon, who departed the series. The fifth season follows Frank and Claire Underwood (Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright) and their attempt to win the 2016 presidential election against Republican Party nominee Will Conway (Joel Kinnaman). The Underwoods are also faced with mounting insubordination from staff and congressional colleagues as the threat of impeachment looms.

Following a series of sexual misconduct allegations made against Kevin Spacey in October 2017, Netflix fired the actor, making the fifth season his final appearance in the series. It consists of 13 episodes and was followed up by a final sixth season released in 2018.

Production

Casting began for the season on June 17, 2016.^[1] Filming had begun by July 20, 2016,^[2] and finished by February 14, 2017.^[3]

On January 28, 2016, Netflix renewed House of Cards for a fifth season. It was also announced that series creator Beau Willimon would step down as showrunner following the fourth season.^[4] It was announced in February 2016 that Melissa James Gibson and Frank Pugliese, who both joined the show in the third season, would serve as co-showrunners for the fifth season.^[5] In October 2016, it was announced that Patricia Clarkson and Campbell Scott had been cast for the fifth season.^[6] The first trailer for the season was released on May 1, 2017.^[7] The season was released on May 30, 2017.^[8]

Cast

• Kevin Spacey as Francis J. Underwood, the President of the United States^[9]
  • Robin Wright as Claire Underwood, First Lady of the United States, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Democratic vice presidential nominee, Vice President of the United States and the President of the United States Michael Kelly as Douglas "Doug" Stamper, the White House Chief of Staff
• Campbell Scott as Mark Usher, top-level Republican campaign adviser and strategist
• Patricia Clarkson as Jane Davis,^[10] Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade
• Paul Sparks as Thomas Yates, speechwriter and Claire Underwood's lover
• Derek Cecil as Seth Grayson, the White House Press Secretary
• Neve Campbell as LeAnn Harvey, a Texas-based political consultant, the Underwood campaign manager
  • Joel Kinnaman as Will Conway, the Republican nominee for president and Governor of New York Dominique McElligott as Hannah Conway, wife of New York Governor and Republican presidential nominee Will Conway
• Boris McGiver as Tom Hammerschmidt, an editor at The Washington Herald and Lucas Goodwin's former boss
• Korey Jackson as Sean Jeffries, a young reporter at The Washington Herald working under Hammerschmidt
• Jayne Atkinson as Catherine Durant, Secretary of State^[11]
• Colm Feore as General Ted Brockhart, Republican vice-presidential nominee
• Damian Young as Aidan Macallan, a data scientist and NSA contractor who is friends with LeAnn Harvey
• James Martinez as Alex Romero, a Democratic congressman from Arizona
• Michel Gill as Garrett Walker, the former President of the United States and Frank's predecessor
• Gerald McRaney as Raymond Tusk, former associate of President Walker's and Frank's adversary
• Larry Pine as Bob Birch, the House Minority Leader and a Democratic U.S. Representative from Michigan
• Curtiss Cook as Terry Womack, the House Minority Whip
• Lars Mikkelsen as Viktor Petrov, the President of the Russian Federation
• Wendy Moniz as Laura Moretti, widow of a liver transplant candidate
• Reed Birney as Donald Blythe, the Vice President of the United States
• Malcolm Madera as Eric Rawlings, a Civil War reenactor and personal trainer
• Kate Lyn Sheil as Lisa Williams, a girlfriend of Rachel Posner's before Rachel's death
  • Jeremy Holm as Agent Nathan Green, the Deputy Director of the FBI Kim Dickens as Kate Baldwin, a journalist and former White House Correspondent for the Wall Street Telegraph
• Dan Ziskie as Jim Matthews, former Vice President of the United States and Governor of Pennsylvania.

Episodes

See also: List of House of Cards episodes.

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 72% based on 46 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The consensus reads, "House of Cards enjoys a confident return to form this season, though its outlandish edge is tempered slightly by the current political climate."^[12] On Metacritic, the season has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[13]

Accolades

House of Cards received four major nominations for the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, Kevin Spacey for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Robin Wright for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and Michael Kelly for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.^[14]

Controversy

Following the fifth season's release during early production of the sixth season in October 2017, sexual misconduct allegations against Kevin Spacey surfaced.^[15] Netflix briefly halted production and made the decision in November 2017 to part ways with the actor, marking the fifth season as his final appearance in the series.^[16]

Notes and References

1. News: Another casting call for 'popular political drama' set for Saturday in Bel Air. May 31, 2017. June 17, 2016. Baltimore Sun. Zumer. Bryna.
2. News: 'House of Cards' Spotted Filming Around Baltimore. CBS Baltimore. July 21, 2016. April 27, 2017.
3. Web site: last day of @houseofcards Season 5. Happy Valentine's Day #HOCinMD. https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/robingwright/1450067306915283723 . December 25, 2021 . registration. Instagram. Robin. Wright. February 14, 2017. April 27, 2017.
4. House of Cards renewed for season 5, showrunner exits. Steiner. Amanda Michelle. Entertainment Weekly. January 28, 2016. January 28, 2016.
5. News: 'House of Cards' Promotes Pair as Showrunners For Season 5. Littleton. Cynthia Michelle. Variety. February 26, 2016. February 27, 2016.
6. News: 'House of Cards' Adds Patricia Clarkson, Campbell Scott (Exclusive). The Hollywood Reporter. Lesley. Goldberg. October 21, 2016. February 23, 2017.
7. News: 'House of Cards' Season 5 Trailer Hints at Underwood Victory. May 5, 2017. May 1, 2017. The Hollywood Reporter. Stanhope, Kate.
8. News: 'House of Cards' Season 5 Gets Premiere Date, Teaser. Birnbaum. Debra. February 26, 2016. Variety. February 27, 2016.
9. House of Cards: 'The battlefield for season 5 is the American psyche' . . Tim . Stack . April 21, 2017 . April 27, 2017.
10. News: Meet the cast of House of Cards season 5 . . Ben . Allen . May 22, 2017 . May 22, 2017.
11. Web site: House of Cards . Netflix . January 21, 2017 . April 27, 2017.
12. Web site: House of Cards: Season 5 (2017) . Rotten Tomatoes . February 17, 2018.
13. Web site: House of Cards: Season 5 reviews . Metacritic . May 31, 2017.
14. Emmys 2017: See the full list of nominees here . Entertainment Weekly . Ariana . Bacle . July 13, 2017 . July 13, 2017.
15. Web site: Abbreviated 'House Of Cards' Season 6 Sans Kevin Spacey To Start Production In 2018, Netflix's Ted Sarandos Says . Chmielewski . Dawn . December 4, 2017 . Deadline . December 4, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171204231939/http://deadline.com/2017/12/ted-sarandos-says-house-of-cards-will-have-sixth-season-1202219529/ . December 4, 2017 . live .
16. Web site: House of Cards: Kevin Spacey Fired . Matt . Mitovich . TVLine . November 3, 2017. November 3, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171104123047/http://tvline.com/2017/11/03/house-of-cards-kevin-spacey-fired/. November 4, 2017. live .