House of Cards

In this ever-changing world of technology, House of Cards may well be the way of the future.

This is a big-budget, profile drama that has been produced by US streaming video service, Netflix.

House of Cards has Kevin Spacey in the lead role and David Fincher as producer / director. Netflix and Media Rights Capital threw $100m at two seasons of 26 episodes. Talk about throwing down the gauntlet to the broadcast television model.

I’m not privvy to the revenue model, but we are seeing more and more content being produced for online. Lilyhammer, currently screening on SBS, is another and Arrested Development is also being revived online.

In a further sign of shaking up the model, Foxtel will premiere this with three episodes on Tuesday night, but thereafter offer the full series online to subscribers via the IQ’s On Demand function. Only SBS 2 beat them to the punch on that idea with three of their shows available online in their entirety last month.

House of Cards is such a bold model that the whole thing could have come crashing down like the title suggests, but the results are dazzling.

The series is based on a 1990 BBC miniseries of the same name, adapted by Andrew Davies from a novel written by Michael Dobbs.

In the US version we begin in the days after a new US President has been voted in, but before his inauguration. Spacey plays Democrat Representative Francis “Frank” J. Underwood who is on the verge of becoming the new Secretary of State.

But when he is overlooked for another candidate, Frank remains in Congress as the House Majority Whip, where he can manipulate policy and, more importantly, exact revenge on the players who betrayed him. You see, Frank is quite the piece of work…

Frank works like a smiling assassin in Washington to achieve the outcomes that suit him, but without ever resorting to emotion or getting blood splatter on his pristine suits. To do this he teams with Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara) a young reporter for The Washington Herald keen to make her mark in the media. Empowered by Frank’s leaks she upstages her seasoned colleagues with scoops and headlines that rock the Capital.

Frank’s wife Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) manages a Clean Water Initiative, which serves as a sub-plot in early episodes. The domestic scenes between the two are more like business meetings than romance.

The first target in Frank’s crosshairs is the newly-appointed Secretary of State Michael Kern (Kevin Kilner). He has no idea of Frank’s ability to undermine him at arms length, and neither does the President’s Chief of Staff Linda Vasquez (Sakina Jaffrey).

But what makes House of Cards even more delicious are the asides that Frank gives to the audience when Spacey breaks the fourth wall, mid-scene, to comment on the action. This gives us precision-like insight into his Machiavellian agenda. In the middle of scenes when Frank is dealing with inept colleagues, Spacey just glances wryly down the barrel of the camera as if to say “Are you getting this?” It’s hilarious fun.

Make no mistake, Spacey is utterly compelling in this two-faced role. Despite Frank’s Southern accent he purrs like a panther, devouring his prey and defying the old-rule that our central characters must be likeable. With a role this tantalising is it any wonder he has broken free of Hollywood models to star in this vehicle? It will be fascinating to watch how this shakes up the Emmy Awards this year (it’s eligible because it has more than 6 episodes).

Spacey is so good that it inadvertently creates a kind of vacuum when he isn’t on the screen, although Kate Mara adds some zest with her chase for a good headline.

With its themes of power, corruption, conspiracy theories and lies, House of Cards is a must-see if you are a fan of dramas like Damages, Boss and Borgen.

Watch your back…

House of Cards premieres 8:30pm Tuesday on Showcase.