Netflix: OK fine, maybe House of Cards isn't cancelled, but Kevin Spacey can't be involved

The initial announcement from Netflix was probably a gut reaction to the first of the Spacey allegations. When the news coming out is that disgusting and repulsive, only the strongest possible counteraction will do. Thus, no more House of Cards. Ever. Besides, your first thought is that there's no way the show can survive without Frank Underwood. The whole story centers on him. But then you start thinking some more, and you realize what an important franchise House of Cards has been to your business model. Media Rights Capital produces the show and licenses it to Netflix. It's a big money arrangment that benefits both parties, and to simply end it won't come cheaply to either side. So maybe, just maybe, there's room to hedge a little:

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Both companies said they are evaluating the future of “House of Cards.” It remains unclear if writers and hundreds of Maryland-based crew are being kept on the payroll as executives decide on the fate of the sixth season. MRC would be on the hook for whatever expenses have to be absorbed as production on “House of Cards” is shut down, though the company could have insurance to cover such events. “House of Cards” is estimated to cost several millions of dollars per episode, with each season consisting of 13 installments. MRC sold the international rights for “House of Cards” to Netflix in a deal estimated to be worth more than $200 million, according to one industry executive familiar with the show.

The biggest complicating factor is that the show is right in the middle of production on the sixth season. Episodes have already been shot with Spacey in them. How do you handle that? If you're not just going to throw them in the trash - and each episode reportedly costs several million dollars to produce, so I'm sure MRC does not want to trash them - then you have to grapple with the question of whether you want go ahead and finish Season 6 without Spacey, then release the season on Netflix with new episode that do involve Spacey.

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Is that something the viewers are willing to accept as necessary for the continuation of the story arc? Or is Spacey now so toxic that he can never be shown again? Creatively, it's a no-brainer: You show the new episodes with Spacey and then work out how you dispose of his character from there on in. It's no different from what they had to do on Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter after John Ritter died three episodes into the season. There was no reason not to air those three episodes, and since his death wasn't expected, the portrayal of his character's death had to be equally unexpected. He collapsed in the store and his wife got one of those phone calls you hope you'll never get. I'm sure the producers can come up with a way to kill the character that works with whatever new direction they might decide to take the show. You'd have to do it without Spacey on screen for the death, but that's been done before and it's not like the viewers won't understand it. The more difficult question is whether the show still works creatively without the Underwood character. I don't have an opinion about that because I don't watch the show. From what I hear, fans of the show seem to think the show could remain strong with Claire Underwood (played by Robin Wright) as the new lead character. Or . . . they could always add Ted McGinley to the cast! There's no ideal way to handle this if you're Netflix and MRC, but if they can find a way to save the show while cutting ties with Spacey, it will be some trick. And here's an even better question: How many other shows are going to have to deal with similar problems as we learn more about what really goes on in Hollywood?

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