About a year ago, Kevin Spacey was accused of sexual harassment by fellow actor, Anthony Rapp. Afterward, more men came forward with their stories of Spacey’s alleged advancements. This led to Spacey’s show on Netflix, House of Cards, firing him from his role as Frank Underwood. His on-screen wife, Claire Underwood (Robin Wright), took the position as the new President of the United States, Frank’s former job.
Fans were relieved to see the show go on with Claire finally getting what she deserved so long ago. A teaser trailer for season six was released in September, showing Frank’s fate clearly – he had died.
Season six, the show’s final season, will premiere on November 2 with eight episodes. The cast and crew arrived in Los Angeles for the premiere on Monday where Wright spoke out about Spacey’s absence from the show. “We are all such a tight-knit family on that show and everyone was so dedicated to making the best of ‘House of Cards.’ What that meant was, we gotta close this out. Give the fans what they want,” Wright told Variety. “Close out the story, come to the conclusion [Claire Underwood] was always meant to be the first female president.”
Wright also fought for the people who consistently worked to make the show better each season. “More importantly,” she continued, “was why not give these people who had jobs their security they expected and they deserved?”
Melissa James Gibson, co-showrunner for the series, felt that there needed to be closure. Gibson said, “We have an amazing crew and an amazing team — many of whom have worked together for so many years — and everybody felt really strongly about finishing the story with integrity and intention and properly. We didn’t want to deny Claire her truth.”
As for Spacey’s role, co-showrunner Frank Pugliese understood that the iconic character could not be swept under the rug. “His presence is still felt in the season,” said Pugliese. “It would be irresponsible to deny that that character ever existed.”
Watch the trailer for season six below.