The original Netflix drama series House of Cards is an uncompromising exploration of power and ambition.  Francis Underwood (Kevin Spacey), the House Majority Whip, is a politician’s politician – masterful, beguiling, charismatic and ruthless – and he and his equally ambitious wife, Claire (Robin Wright), will stop at nothing to ensure their ascendancy.  The Academy of Television recently hosted an evening to celebrate the show, and Collider was there to cover and attend the event.

During the discussion about the 13-episode series, actor/executive producer Kevin Spacey and showrunner/executive producer/writer Beau Willimon talked about their extreme look at Washington, D.C., the collaboration and freedom they get with Netflix, that they shoot two episodes at a time, both done by the same director, why they shoot in Baltimore, Maryland instead of D.C., why this is such a Golden Age for television, and how they’ve developed the storylines with two seasons in mind.  Check out what they had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers.

The drama series House of Cards, which can currently be viewed through Netflix, is an uncompromising exploration of power and ambition.  Francis Underwood (Kevin Spacey), the House Majority Whip, is a politician’s politician – masterful, beguiling, charismatic and ruthless – and he and his equally ambitious wife, Claire (Robin Wright) stop at nothing to ensure their ascendancy.

During this recent interview to promote the 13-episode series, actress Kate Mara, who plays bright and determined political reporter Zoe Barnes, talked about her take on the character, where Zoe’s moral compass lies, getting early drafts of the scripts prior to shooting, how each director took on two hours of the show and that they shot it like six movies, what it was like to work with co-star Kevin Spacey, and that they start shooting Season 2 in about a month.  Check out what she had to say after the jump. 

Fans of David Fincher have been itching to see a new feature film from the director since 2011’s release of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and we received a fairly promising update on his potential next project just yesterday.  The filmmaker has been developing a big-budget remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for quite some time with an eye towards making it his next film, and yesterday we learned that Disney is being wooed by a major tax credit to shoot the film in Australia this year.  Though Fincher was hoping to nab frequent collaborator Brad Pitt as his star, the actor had yet to officially sign on to the project.

Now a new report has surfaced with plenty of updates on all things Fincher, including word that he’s looking at a number of actors—including Channing Tatum—to possibly lead 20,000 Leagues given that Pitt has passed, that he may have to push production on the remake back to next year and film something else in the interim, and the possibility that he might not helm any of season two of the Netflix series House of Cards.  Hit the jump to read on.

We’ll dedicate more time to this topic after the jump, but in just a few sentences I want to share a quick thought I had while watching Netflix’s House of Cards last weekend. It’s not just that I think the show is great. When you involve talents like Kevin Spacey and David Fincher, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where quality work is in short supply. It’s that this level of material was birthed by and is only consumed via the Internet. I’ve been in debates where the question was whether or not the web would foster an age of amateurs. A future in which the training and dedication required to further perfect one’s craft would fall by the wayside leaving audiences with less than stellar work produced by those made lazy by the eased production and distribution technologies afforded by the Internet. While the fact that I’m writing to a considerable audience today via this site is evidence to that very argument, the overall quality of HOC is a strong rebuttal against those concerned about the quality of entertainment work in a digital age.

All thinking out loud aside, this week’s Top 5 features an editorial response to Disney’s announcement that Star Wars spinoff films are in the works, Side Effects interviews with Steven Soderbergh and more, a word about Hulk’s movie future, Matt’s editorial on Netflix and the affect time shifting has on viewing habits, and the latest news out of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 camp. As you’re probably expecting, a brief recap and link to each waits after the jump.

This week on Blu-ray another Disney classic is released from the vault, an Oscar contender hits home video, and an in-depth look at the film vs. digital debate comes to HD.  Briefly:

• Alex Cross [Blu-ray + Digital Copy + UltraViolet] – $19.86 (50% off)
• Cabaret [Blu-ray] – $18.86 (33% off)
• Celeste and Jesse Forever [Blu-ray] – $19.99 (44% off)
• Deadfall [Blu-ray] – $24.99 (17% off)
• Flight (Two-Disc Combo: Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy + UltraViolet) – $19.99 (50% off)
• Here Comes the Boom (+ UltraViolet Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] – $19.99 (44% off)
• House of Cards Trilogy: The Original UK Series Remastered [Blu-ray] – $44.86 (10% off)
• A Late Quartet [Blu-ray] – $20.86 (30% off)
• Peter Pan (Three-Disc Diamond Edition: Blu-ray/DVD + Digital Copy + Storybook App) – $27.99 (38% off)
• Side by Side [Blu-ray] – $19.99 (33% off)
• Star Is Born [Blu-ray] – $18.50 (34% off)

Hit the jump for special features details.

Over the weekend, I tweeted that Kevin Spacey was a shoo-in for a Best Actor Emmy for his performance on House of Cards.  Adam informed me that Spacey was ineligible because House of Cards didn’t meet the Emmys’ definition of broadcast television.  I imagine five years from now, the Emmys and the old-guard TV establishment it represents will finally catch on to the changing landscape of modern viewing habits.  The age of “appointment television” is almost completely dead, and “must-see-TV” has become “I’ll-see-it-when-I-damn-well-please-TV”.  Shows and networks are pushing the boundaries of when we can see them, where we can see them, and as House of Cards showed us this past weekend, how we can see them.  However, we might not have as much power over our viewing habits as technology would lead us to believe.

This weekend, Netflix premiered House of Cards.  All of House of Cards.  It was a bold strategy that signaled that not only was Netflix now in the television business (even though it isn’t their first original series), but that they had quality programming on the level of HBO.  House of Cards is a show with the same level of plotting, character development, twists, and turns that we’ve come to expect from the celebrated premium channel.  In some ways, House of Cards is even better than some of HBO’s recent offerings.  Beau Willimon‘s adaptation of the BBC series is radical not only in its distribution, but also in how it spits in the face of those who claim that they need characters to “root for”.

House of Cards isn’t Netflix’s first original series, but it’s the most important to the streaming service’s future.  Arrested Development has the benefit of a built-in audience, but House of Cards is built from the ground-up (aside from being a remake of the British series), and Netflix is hoping that the clout of executive producer David Fincher and star Kevin Spacey will help draw in viewers.  Judging by the trailers, the show looks to have a highly entertaining and pitch-black take on modern American politics.  All 13 episodes are now available online, and if I weren’t working, I’d be marathoning them right now.

Netflix is hoping it can lure in new members by offering the series premiere for free on its website.  Furthermore, all Xbox users can watch the show this weekend provided they’re already Netflix members.  No Gold Xbox Live membership is required.  Hit the jump to check out the trailer for House of Cards.

One of my most-anticipated TV series of 2013 isn’t on network television, cable, or premium cable.  It’s on Netflix.  The streaming service is moving into the original television business, and it might have two hits on its hands with House of Cards and the fourth season of Arrested Development.  Four new trailers have been released for the former, and if you couldn’t tell by the first trailer, the show looks downright nasty and loads of fun.  The new trailers bring us some crackling lines such as “The most you’ll ever make of yourself is blowing men like me,” and “Twitter twat.”  Who can resist dialogue like that?

Click here to see the trailers [via CinemaBlend].  We’ll update this article with embeds as soon as they’re available.  The series stars Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Kate Mara, Corey Stoll, Michael Kelly, Sakina Jaffrey, Kristen Connolly, Sebastian Arcelus, Boris McGiver, Constance Zimmer, Jayne Atkinson, Michel Gill, and Reg E. Cathey.  All 13 episodes of House of Cards premiere on February 1st.

Netflix, the ever-evolving DVD and streaming service, has really raised the bar on web series and online original content recently, both with the news of its resurrection of the beloved Arrested Development and its upcoming David Fincher adaptation of Michael Dobbs‘ House of Cards series.

In anticipation of House of Cards‘ release, Netflix has created character profiles that say something about each, while also revealing their true nature.  Hit the jump for the pics and the trailer.  The show stars Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Kate Mara, Corey Stoll, Michael Kelly, Sakina Jaffrey, Kristen Connolly, Sebastian Arcelus, Boris McGiver, Constance Zimmer, Jayne Atkinson, Michel Gill, and Reg E. Cathey.  All 13 episode of House of Cards premiere on February 1, 2013.

Back in March, Kevin Spacey billed David Fincher‘s upcoming Netflix series House of Cards as “not your daddy’s West Wing.”  It certainly looks like The West Wing if Aaron Sorkin‘s show was dark, cynical, and filled with duplicitous characters but still entertaining as hell.  Watching the Washington, D.C. scheming in this trailer looks absolutely captivating, and Netflix might very well have a hit show not named “Arrested Development“.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The show also stars Robin Wright, Kate Mara, Corey Stoll, Michael Kelly, Sakina Jaffrey, Kristen Connolly, Sebastian Arcelus, Boris McGiver, Constance Zimmer, Jayne Atkinson, Michel Gill, and Reg E. Cathey.  All 13 episode of House of Cards premiere on February 1, 2013.

With the exception of Arrested Development, there is no higher-profile show for Netflix than David Fincher‘s House of Cards.  The series “follows ruthless politician Francis Underwood (Kevin Spacey), the majority whip of the House of Representatives, and his wife, Claire (Robin Wright), as they pursue power and all the good things that come with it in Washington.”  Netflix, if it plans to survive, has to develop original content, and Fincher’s adaptation of the BBC TV series could be a major hit.  Since Netflix doesn’t have to abide by the same rules as traditional networks, the New York Times is reporting that the subscription streaming service will premiere all 13 episodes on February 1, 2013.  Fincher developed the series and directed the first two episodes with other episodes being directed by James Foley, Joel Schumacher, Carl Franklin, Alan Coulter, and Charles McDougall.

Coupled with the fourth seasons of Arrested Development, 2013 could be a huge year for Netflix in terms of breaking away from its flagging steaming service, and breaking into a redefinition of broadcast television.  Hit the jump to check out the first poster for House of Cards.

The first image from director David Fincher’s upcoming Netflix series House of Cards is now online.  The show is based on the British miniseries of the same name and stars Kevin Spacey as a “wily, murderous politician worming his way to the White House” in Washington D.C.  Fincher is directing the pilot, and Netflix has committed to producing and airing two seasons of 13 episodes each that will stream through the subscription service.  Fincher seems a perfect fit to tackle the dirty game of politics, and the series reteams him the director with Spacey and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo star Robin Wright.  A specific airdate has yet to be announced, but the series is set to be unveiled sometime in 2013.

Hit the jump to check out the first image of Spacey and Wright in what the former calls, “[not] your daddy’s West Wing.”

Here’s our TV casting call round-up. Check out the new additions at a glance below:

• William Petersen will star in and exec produce GKTV’s hitman drama, Hurt People.
• The Vampire Diaries actor Matt Davis will lead the new CW mystery pilot, Cult, from Farscape-mastermind Rockne S. O’Bannon.
• Fresh off playing the world’s worst dad in Chronicle, veteran character actor Michael Kelly is joining David Fincher’s Netflix series, House of Cards.
• Freddie Prinze Jr. has been cast in an untitled NBC sitcom pilot by Hilary Winston (Community).

Hit the jump for details on each project.

Last weekend Sony held a big press junket in New York City for director David Fincher‘s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and I got to participate in a press conference with Fincher, Rooney Mara, and Daniel Craig.  Click here if you missed it.  As most of you know, Dragon Tattoo is the first in Stieg Larson’s Millennium trilogy and it centers on a disgraced journalist (Craig) who’s hired to investigate the mysterious 40-year-old disappearance of a young woman.  Mara plays Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant young hacker who teams up with Craig.

Shortly after the press conference ended, I got to sit down with Fincher for an exclusive interview.  We talked about deleted scenes (the first cut of Dragon Tattoo was 3 hours and seven minutes!), extended cuts, if he would change his previous movies like George Lucas has changed Star Wars, what filmmakers/collaborators he shows his films to first, if he does test screenings or just friends and family screenings, his favorite Star Wars movie, and I got updates on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Cleopatra and House of Cards.  Hit the jump to either read or listen to the interview.