In today’s politically charged world, shows like Netflix’s hugely popular series House of Cards might seem more relevant than ever for some viewers. As it turns out, lead actors of the series Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright would agree. During the press cycle for the latest season of House of Cards, both Spacey and Wright, who play Frank and Claire Underwood respectively on the show, have discussed the relationship their iconic political drama has to the current United States Presidency.
Vanity Fair reports that during the Women in Motion conference at the Cannes Film Festival, Wright joked about how President Trump’s policies have impacted the future of House of Cards. “Trump has stolen all of our ideas for Season 6,” the actress quipped. “I don’t know what we’re going to do, seriously.” Wright told World Entertainment News in separate interview that, “Trump is trumping us.”
In the most recent seasons of House of Cards, the show has dealt with storylines that share strong parallels with the current administration and political climate, including such topics as the Russian-American relationship and the American conflict with extremist terrorist groups in the Middle East. According to Robin Wright, how President Trump is grappling with these issues in real life apparently supersedes anything the showrunners could dream up in terms of both entertainment and shock value.
Kevin Spacey has also touched upon the compelling parallels between House of Cards and the state of American politics, detailing how some plot points might seem too close for comfort. Spacey told Stephen Colbert in an interview on The Late Show, “At some point between when we’ve shot the season and before it drops there are [some things] on the show…that end up happening in the real world. And we go, ‘everyone’s going to assume that we stole it from the headlines,’ but in fact, we did it first.” Spacey concluded by saying, “I have to say in all honesty, I think we’ve never been more relevant.”
House of Cards Season 5 premieres May 30 on Netflix.