Plot: Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) is an ambitious Democratic congressman and the House Majority Whip. Underwood helped ensure the election of President Garrett Walker (Michel Gill), who promised to appoint Underwood as Secretary of State. However, before Walker is sworn in, Chief of Staff Linda Vasquez (Sakina Jaffrey) announces that the president will not honor the agreement and will instead nominate Senator Michael Kern.

Furious at Walker’s betrayal, Underwood and his equally manipulative yet ambiguous wife Claire (Robin Wright), an environmental activist, make a pact to destroy Kern. When reporter Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara) makes her resources available, she becomes one of their pawns.

Cast: Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Kate Mara, Corey Stoll, Michael Kelly, Sakina Jaffrey, Kristen Connolly, Constance Zimmer, Mahershala Ali, Sebastian Arcelus, Rachel Brosnahan, Sandrine Holt, Michel Gill, Ben Daniels, Boris McGiver, Jayne Atkinson, Nathan Darrow, Reg E. Cathey, Al Sapienza, Reed Birney, Maryann Plunkett & Gerald McRaney.

Directors: David Fincher, Joel Schumacher, Carl Franklin, James Foley, Charles McDougall & Allen Coulter.

Writers: Beau Willimon, Sarah Treem, Rick Cleveland, Kate Barnow, Gina Gionfriddo, Keith Huff & Sam Forman | Based on a novel by Michael Dobbs.

Filming Dates: January 2012 – October 2012

Release Date: February 1, 2013 on Netflix

Budget: $100 million for 26 episodes in two seasons (13 episodes per season)

The first season of ‘House of Cards’ (13 episodes) was produced by Media Rights Capital, and the executive producers are David Fincher, Kevin Spacey, Eric Roth, Joshua Donen, Dana Brunetti, Andrew Davies, Michael Dobbs, John Melfi and Beau Willimon.

The fifth and sixth episodes of this season marked the final directing work of Joel Schumacher.