November 6, 2018, goes down in history as one of the most important dates in not only politics but our life. Today, people over 18 who can legally vote will vote during the midterm elections. All over social media, you will find the “I voted” stickers, pins, and photos. The midterm elections are a chance for some real change to happen and that goes for both sides.
House of Cards’ episodes is ringing louder than ever in the political climate. “Politics will be on the audience’s minds when they watch the final season,” co-showrunner Frank Pugliese acknowledges about the timing. “At best, I think the show can ask questions about what kind of government you want and how you can be involved. Things like that.” Co-showrunner, Melissa James Gibson, adds to THR, “I’m really hoping it will get out the vote!”
Ever since Donald Trump was actively campaigning for the presidency, people became interested in researching more about politics. Once the headlines flashed across our TV that Trump was President, everyone knew that day would go down in the history books. James Gibson says, “the White House has become the TV show. The show has always been interested in the seams of the institutions of democracy: Where are those limits? I think over the seasons with all branches of government, we’ve started to explore the edge. Real life is, of course, giving us a run for our money.”
Pugliese agrees that we have just been watching some really interesting episodes of the White House. “The most terrifying thing is not that we may be like politics, but that politics has become like a TV show,” says Pugliese. “Our job as dramatists is to keep stuff unresolved. You would hope politics is about consensus. It seems that politics is trying to keep things unresolved and sort of be some perverse idea of entertainment to try to keep themselves relevant. It seems an unhealthy way to be relevant. It’s our job to create the drama.”
House of Cards’ Twitter account tweeted a message ahead of the midterm elections.