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GK86 · Feb 26, 2016

A ruthless politician will stop at nothing to conquer Washington, D.C., in this Emmy and Golden Globe-winning political drama.

Release: Season 4 will be released on Super Friday (March 4th).

Spoilers: Spoilers, spoilers everywhere.

Links:

Netflix page.
Trailer.
Portrait Unveiling clip.

Reviews:

AV Club:

That said, there are some real risks taken this season, both stylistically, and in terms of plot. Did showrunner Beau Willimon decide to go out with a bang? Without getting into too much detail, a big event a few episodes in completely shifts the show on its axis in unprecedented fashion. Whether it ends up giving the series somewhere new to go isn’t clear in the six episodes screened for critics, but it’s nice to see House Of Cards showing some of the ambition Frank so admires.

EW:

B+ (their review seems to touch on the story a bit too much for my tastes, so I didn't read it all).

Variety:

Without giving anything away, where the show occasionally stumbles, and at times risks jumping the shark, is in its handling of politics. Yes, the Underwoods can have done all kinds of horrible stuff behind the scenes in their pursuit of power, but there are certain practical curbs on the public face politicians must project – even in this day and age – that the series periodically violates, to the point where it can temporarily burst the dramatic bubble, making viewers (at least those prone to second-guess such things) keenly aware that they’re watching a work of flamboyant fiction. Put more simply, the writing conjures drama by making these highly intelligent characters do some very dumb things.

Cast:

Kevin Spacey as Frank Underwood

Robin Wright as Claire Underwood

Michael Kelly as Doug Stamper

Mahershala Ali as Remy Danton

Jayne Atkinson as Catherine Durant

Neve Campbell as Leann Harvey

Derek Cecil as Seth Grayson

Nathan Darrow as Edward Meechum

Kim Dickens as Kate Baldwin

Elizabeth Marvel as Heather Dunbar

Dominique McElligott

Molly Parker as Jackie Sharp

Paul Sparks as Thomas Yates

Ellen Burstyn as Clarie's mother

Cicely Tyson

Joel Kinnaman

Promo pictures:

Hibiki Kurosawa · Feb 26, 2016

Joel Kinnaman? He was so fucking awesome in The Killing. I had no idea he was going to be in this.

Kazaam · Feb 26, 2016

I'm ready. It's been too long. Curious to see if there will be any innuendos to the actual US presidential primaries and candidates.

Fuu · Feb 26, 2016

Kind of wish this and DD weren't both dropping in March. I wish I could pace myself, but who am I kidding.

Pryce · Feb 26, 2016

I really like how they're aging Underwood here.

minor effort · Feb 26, 2016

I'll be honest. They kind of dampened my enthusiasm when they preemptively announced it was coming back for a fifth season.

Although I hope the series will be wrapped up neatly instead of milked as long as they can, I wish they had at least let us watch the fourth season without knowing whether it's the climax.

Lima · Feb 26, 2016

Zero expectations. Will probably still get disappointed.

Sai-kun · Feb 26, 2016

More threesomes please

minor effort said:
I'll be honest. They kind of dampened my enthusiasm when they preemptively announced it was coming back for a fifth season.

Although I hope the series will be wrapped up neatly instead of milked as long as they can, I wish they had at least let us watch the fourth season without knowing whether it's the climax.

Ugh

Really?

Wowfunhappy · Feb 26, 2016

Yaaay, it's almost here! I'm one of the wierdos who loved Season 3.

Syf · Feb 26, 2016

Give the Underwoods their edge back! I miss the cold calculation of season one. Hoping this is a return to form for the show too.

It's still an interesting enough story to have me excited af though, even if it is more of season three's style.

minor effort · Feb 26, 2016

Sai-kun said:
Ugh

Really?

Not only that, but the showrunner, Beau Willimon, will be stepping down after the this season.

MattyG · Feb 26, 2016

I really hope they can recover after the mess that was season 3. I love 1 and 2, but 3 felt like a chore to watch and ended up being such a dud in terms of story. I don't even remember what happened beyond

Claire leaving.

duckroll · Feb 26, 2016

Is Trump going to be in this season?

Sinatar · Feb 26, 2016

I don't know if the show can recover from the complete and utter character assassination of Claire in season 3. From cold driven woman to a complete fucking simp. So bad.

exmachina64 · Feb 26, 2016

Syfadious said:
Give the Underwoods their edge back! I miss the cold calculation of season one. Hoping this is a return to form for the show too.

It's still an interesting enough story to have me excited af though, even if it is more of season three's style.

The first episode of season 1 is among my favorite episodes of TV of all time, would be nice to see a return to form.

duckroll said:
Is Trump going to be in this season?

I hope so.

Kazaam · Feb 26, 2016

duckroll said:
Is Trump going to be in this season?

I think everyone is wondering that

MattyG · Feb 26, 2016

Sinatar said:
I don't know if the show can recover from the complete and utter character assassination of Claire in season 3. From cold driven woman to a complete fucking simp. So bad.

I really hope she ruthlessly knocks Frank down a few pegs this season. That's the only way to build her character back up.

GK86 · Feb 26, 2016

Wowfunhappy said:
Yaaay, it's almost here! I'm one of the wierdos who loved Season 3.

Yup, I'm in the minority as well. The major thing that bug me was the lack of fourth wall. It is one of the reasons I love the show. You were always in the loop and in sync on what Frank was thinking or plotting.

jsnepo · Feb 26, 2016

Sinatar said:
I don't know if the show can recover from the complete and utter character assassination of Claire in season 3. From cold driven woman to a complete fucking simp. So bad.

Yeah. She was someone you won't want to be a force to reckon with but in season 3, she's really different.

Spider from Mars · Feb 26, 2016

Never finished season 3. The last episode I remember is where Claire is sitting in a prison cell in Russia. Is it worth seeing out or can someone give me bullet points of the plot if it isn't,

Johan Liebert · Feb 26, 2016

Is this supposed to be the final season?

GK86 · Feb 26, 2016

Johan Liebert said:
Is this supposed to be the final season?

Already renewed for a fifth season.

Orkidea · Feb 26, 2016

duckroll said:
Is Trump going to be in this season?

Thought he was already in it

duckroll · Feb 26, 2016

Johan Liebert said:
Is this supposed to be the final season?

No. Netflix said they can see the series continuing forever, and the showrunner quit.

reelbigtink · Feb 26, 2016

I wish I could be more excited for this. I watched 4 episodes or so into season 3 and was miserable. I loved the first season and thought 2 was hit-and-miss but mostly enjoyable.

Hero_of_the_Day · Feb 26, 2016

duckroll said:
No. Netflix said they can see the series continuing forever, and the showrunner quit.

Ugh...

HMD · Feb 26, 2016

Super excited! but you seriously could have picked better pictures for the cast.

RatskyWatsky · Feb 26, 2016

I thought season 3 was better than season 2, overall, though there were still quite a few missteps here and there. Hopefully season 4 will be a full on return to form.

Deleted member 30609 · Feb 26, 2016

duckroll said:
No. Netflix said they can see the series continuing forever, and the showrunner quit.

what a mess

M.W. · Feb 26, 2016

Can't wait.

Josh5890 · Feb 26, 2016

I'm definitely interested to see how things turn out. I know it is going to be more campaign focused but I prefer it when they do shows around the day to day government operations.

JTripper · Feb 26, 2016

Molly Parker killed it as Jackie last season. I'm excited for this season since I actually really enjoyed S3. It seemed like it was significantly less well-received than the others.

NoctisVsStar · Feb 26, 2016

Frank Underwood will save the PS-Vita he has my vote

nubbe · Feb 26, 2016

duckroll said:
No. Netflix said they can see the series continuing forever, and the showrunner quit.

So the Senate will give the president the honor of dictator for life

Bittercup · Feb 26, 2016

minor effort said:
I'll be honest. They kind of dampened my enthusiasm when they preemptively announced it was coming back for a fifth season.

That's disappointing to hear. I was expecting the finale.
I'm still excited. I enjoyed the 3 seasons so far. The third one was the weakest so I hope the forth will be stronger again.

Johan Liebert · Feb 26, 2016

GK86 said:
Already renewed for a fifth season.

duckroll said:
No. Netflix said they can see the series continuing forever, and the showrunner quit.

Wow, after the series continuing decline I thought this would be the final season. Weird decision.

Ledbetter · Feb 26, 2016

When this show started, I thought it was going to be like only three seasons, due to the plot nature of scaling positions (Congressman -> VP -> President). And while I can't deny I can't wait to watch season 4, it seems to me that five seasons are just too much for a plot of a show like this one. Hopefully I'm wrong.

Also, I think season 3 better than 2, mostly because the hacker and the Feng storyline were a bit boring to me.

RoadHazard · Feb 26, 2016

Excited, but yeah, count me among those who think this should really only have been like three seasons long, and that five (or more) seasons is just way too much. The exciting bit was his ascent, now what?

GK86 · Feb 26, 2016

Some early reviews:

The Telegraph:

But now that departing showrunner Beau Willimon has found a way of putting Underwood on the back foot again, House of Cards has regained its mojo. Spacey twinkles with vehemence as he ratchets up his portrayal of Frank as villainous force of nature; Wright has never been better as burningly ambitious ice queen Claire, who has unearthed a useful foil in ruthless strategist Leann Harvey (played by the star of the 1996 horror classic Scream, Neve Campbell).

To that can be added a live-wire plot, with several genuine upsets and some mind-bending cameos. There is also the ongoing pleasure of House of Cards's depiction of Washington DC as Purgatory-on-the-Potomac, a transient zone of faceless glass facades and people carriers with blacked-out windows. In contrast to the real life presidential race, there is, of course, the additional comfort of knowing that, no matter how deranged the storyline, it's all just make-believe.

House of Cards was the original of the binge-watch species and fans are sure to enjoy every deliciously dark moment of what rates as a triumphant return.

Joblo:

House of Cards has begun a shift from being a show that was very different from anything else on television (DEADPOOL with politicians) to becoming an R-rated version of The West Wing. Make no mistake, the drama here is still of a high level and it is a lot of fun seeing Kevin Spacey inhabit the role of Frank Underwood so fully, but the series now seems to be cruising along rather than throwing us the curveballs that made the first two years must see television. It could be the fact that this season picks up with no time jump and gives it the feeling of being the second half of season three and therefore comes across as being less of it's own story arc. But, when you compare the political machinations on this series compared to anything on network or cable television, it still holds it's own.

What keeps House of Cards from feeling vital and immediate is the parallel of the fictional election cycle during our real life election year. With the drama surrounding Hillary Clinton versus Bernie Sanders and then everything that is Donald Trump, it may not seem quite as surreal having a candidate who schemes, murders, and back-traffics his way to the highest office in America but it still gives us a look into the skewed system that is the United States. The addition of Kinnaman to the cast gives this show an injection of younger talent while Neve Campbell is the best she has been in years. This takes some of the weight off of the other actors like the great Michael Kelly, Mahershala Ali, Elizabeth Marvel, and Molly Parker, but they all still shine.

Dysun · Mar 2, 2016

Excitement for Season 4 seems pretty low. Season 3 backlash?

carlsojo · Mar 2, 2016

Dysun said:
Excitement for Season 4 seems pretty low. Season 3 backlash?

Season 3 was pretty fucking terrible so my expectations are bare-bones.

Cipher Peon · Mar 2, 2016

Season 3 was sooooooo good.
Season 4 is gonna be great, so great. So so great. Can't wait!

gutshot · Mar 2, 2016

Reviews seem to be mostly positive so I'm cautiously optimistic that this season will be a return to form.

http://www.metacritic.com/tv/house-of-cards-2013/season-4

Raitosaito · Mar 2, 2016

Hope it's better than season 3

Struct09 · Mar 2, 2016

<-- Hyped

Pineapple · Mar 2, 2016

Is it going to be available at midnight on the 4th?

Or later in the day?

Funky Papa · Mar 2, 2016

In for more mustache twirling.

And holy cannoli, Molly Parker looks OLD in that picture.

Vicetrailia · Mar 2, 2016

Well they messed up by talking about season 5. 3 was good enough to hype, but this show should end with season 4.

Smooth Criminal · Mar 2, 2016

Yeah, I'm all in for this. I had no qualms with Season 3 and really like the 'storm is brewing' vibe that they're going for here. I don't expect to see much sunlight when the new season drops.

Venom Fox · Mar 2, 2016

Frank Underwood for the win!

This past week has seen me neglect my PS4 to re binge on the previous 3 seasons.

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House of Cards Season 4 |OT| Anything for America. Netflix March 4th

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