Netflix Official On Decision To Remove Kevin Spacey, ‘House Of Cards’ Spinoff

The year 2017 wasn’t the best one for “House of Cards” star Kevin Spacey since that’s when he was accused of sexual assault by several individuals and he lost acting gigs left and right.

One of the first things he lost was his role as Frank Underwood in the Netflix series “House of Cards,” and the network’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos said that they were happy with the decision they made.

“I think it gave us all an opportunity to soul-search right away and I love that we were able to very quickly come to the conclusion,” Sarandos told the New York Daily News.

The exec added that employees have a right to “a workplace that is safe, where people are equal and respected and are judged by the quality of their work and not who they are — not to be in a position to be taken advantage of by people of power.”

So even though Spacey was the lead star, they will not tolerate his behavior. “The best way to set that environment is, no matter who it is, they’ve got to go,” he said.

“People love the show,” Sarandos added. “They love Claire (the First Lady played by Robin Wright). They love Francis, too, and everybody wants to see how this wraps up. Yes, this was a Kevin Spacey story, but there’s 340 people who make that show.”

Meanwhile, he also confirmed reports of a “House of Cards” spinoff, although Sarandos refused to reveal what it will be about. Variety earlier reported that the streaming service and producer Media Rights Capital is currently working on multiple ideas for a potential spinoff.

They are currently in the early stages of development, and so far, ideas have started forming around Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly), the political aide-de-camp of Frank. Eric Roth, who served as an executive producer for the first four seasons of “House of Cards,” is set to write the script.

Meanwhile, the sixth and final season of the show will begin production in early 2018. According to Entertainment Weekly, the eight-episode season will place the spotlight on Wright’s character Claire. Spacey will no longer be included.