HOUSE OF CARDS Extends Hiatus with Intentions of Continuing Production without Kevin Spacey

According to The Hollywood Reporter, HOUSE OF CARDS producers have extended the series' hiatus another two weeks following the announcement that the upcoming season will be the show's last.

The decision to end the popular Netflix series was made shortly after star Kevin Spacey was accused of sexual harassment. Actor Anthony Rapp revealed that Spacey made sexual advances at him when he was just 14 years old. Both actors were working on Broadway at the time. Though Spacey has since apologized for the incident and came out as gay, his remarks have been strongly criticized by GLAAD and other groups.

Netflix issued a statement that it would be severing ties with Spacey, saying: "Netflix will not be involved with any further production of House of Cards that includes Kevin Spacey. We will continue to work with MRC during this hiatus time to evaluate our path forward as it relates to the show." In accordance with these terms, Spacey's character will likely be written out of the show for the final season.

In a letter to the HOUSE OF CARDS cast and crew, senior VP of business and legal affairs Pauline Micelli says production will likely resume December 8th and lauds all those involved on the project for their patience and commitment. Read the full letter below:

Dear Cast and Crew,

As we move into the holidays, we want to express our appreciation for all of the meaningful messages of support we have received from you and want to update all of our loyal cast and crew on our progress and where things currently stand.

We continue to work with Netflix with the hope of resuming production soon. As we continue these discussions, we have determined together that the crew will be paid for an additional two week hiatus - beginning on November 27th and continuing through December 8th.

In addition to the writers, there will be a small contingency of office/accounting staff who will remain in The Production Office on a continuous basis. Our hope is that the entire crew will be able to reconvene when production resumes, but we want you to know that we will certainly understand if crew members need to find other work in the interim, which will prevent them from re-joining us. We sincerely appreciate all you have done.

Cast and other union members who are not actively working will be paid in accordance with applicable union guidelines through this period and we will be reaching out directly to your representatives to work through the details; we will get to everyone as quickly as possible and appreciate all of your patience here.

These last two months have tested and tried all of us in ways none of us could have foreseen. THE ONE thing we have learned throughout this process is that this production is bigger than just one person and we could not be more proud to be associated with one of the most loyal and talented production cast and crews in this business.

We will provide an additional update by 12/8/17.

Thank you all.

Pauline Micelli

For more, visit The Hollywood Reporter here.