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Can Netflix save TV?

Sat, 11 May 2013 19:00:00 +0000

There are a number of headlines floating around about Netflix the last few weeks, especially because of the upcoming return of “Arrested Development” and the debuts of “House of Cards” and “Hemlock Grove.” What used to be the common refrain of hoping that TBS might save a cancelled show, or that the network in question would recognize its terrible mistake once the DVD sales numbers detonated, has now become the hope that Netflix will be the white knight of disgruntled fans. I’ve seen headlines in the last few weeks, trade news stories written solely about what one disposable Netflix executive or another said when asked about Netflix picking up some random show.

Kevin Spacey defends how “House of Cards” portrays Washington, to Washington crowd

Wed, 08 May 2013 12:56:00 +0000

Kevin Spacey’s fictional Democratic Whip Francis Underwood in the Netflix series "House of Cards" isn’t much like real Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer. But the two have become chummy -- and engaged in an honest exchange about the show's portrayal of politics at a Motion Picture Association of America event in Washington on Tuesday night.

Despite their relationship, the actual whip critiqued Spacey’s show when the event's host, NBC's Chris Matthews, gave him the opportunity to ask Hoyer if he had any questions for “the man who’s pillorying your career.” “One of the phrases that I hate the most is when people say ‘well, that’s politics,’” Hoyer said, “and your show is a lot about, ‘well, that’s politics.’” People already have an unfairly negative view of politics, Hoyer explained, and “House of Cards” plays into a nihilistic and venal portrait of politics that goes further than reality.

Spacey acknowledged the point, but chalked it up to the medium, noting that Hollywood makes plenty of movies about the film business that are grimmer than Hollywood really is. That’s drama.

White House Correspondents’ Dinner spoofs “House of Cards”

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 13:50:00 +0000

The White House Correspondents' Dinner opened with a spoof of "House of Cards," in which Kevin Spacey goes to great lengths to complete the seating chart for the dinner. "It must be so hard to write jokes about a town that already is one," he says, addressing Conan O'Brien.

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The politics of “ZD30,” “House of Cards”

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 19:15:00 +0000

Steve Kornacki: I was just thinking, this is for me -- being with Ramin and Andrew -- is good practice for “Up,” because I’m surrounded by two people who are much, much smarter than me. So I’m going to basically ask the questions here and try to steer the conversation and let you hear from these guys. I guess a good place to start would be that we had three really high-profile films last year that were politically themed: “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Lincoln,” and “Argo.” I’m going to start with you, Ramin: Do you see any kind of a trend there, or any kind of statement about the time we’re in? Is there more of an appetite for political films?

Ramin Bahrani: Well, probably Andrew would know historically, but I think depending on what’s happening in the world, there’s always a possibility for a political film to exist. I mean, “Zero Dark Thirty” was probably the one that was the most directly connected to what was happening, “Lincoln” in more of a shadow way, “Argo,” I think, in maybe a way that makes the least sense in terms of what’s happening, actually. I think there’s always an appetite, and now that we clearly have a major conflict in Washington, I think that Occupy Wall Street is making people think very differently about society and our role in it. I think wealth and equality and this whole idea [of a] 99 percent is a huge topic – it’s on people’s minds, especially young people. So anyway, that informs cinema.

“House of Cards” is bogus

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:33:00 +0000

At a real-time salon Wednesday night, Salon's Steve Kornacki and Andrew O'Hehir discussed politics and pop culture with acclaimed filmmaker Ramin Bahrani (whose new film "At Any Price" comes out April 24) at Soho House, New York. During the Q&A that followed, a question was asked about Netflix's "House of Cards" -- which prompted an impassioned response from Kornacki, below. [Spoiler alert!]

Why was Francis Underwood a Democrat?

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 14:49:00 +0000

If you have Netflix and are even vaguely interested in American politics, it is a good bet your nightmares already are, or soon will be, haunted by Francis Underwood. The fictional Democratic congressman from South Carolina is the central antihero in the American version of the British hit "House of Cards" -- and he makes quite an impression.

Underwood gets his initials from the British show's central character Francis Urquhart, and the two share many traits. They are both brilliant, conniving, mercurial and wholly without ideology -- that is, as long as you don't count raw personal ambition as ideology.

There is, however, one huge difference between the two kindred spirits: While Urquhart leads the right-leaning Conservative Party, Underwood directs the ostensibly left-of-center Democratic Party. While this change may seem minor, it is a key linchpin of the show; indeed, the American production probably would not be able to so powerfully deliver its transpartisan political commentary if Underwood were a Republican. That's because by casting him as a Democrat, "House of Cards" is avoiding the standard cartoonish portrayal of Washington as a place of Evil-And-Powerful Conservatives and Idealistic-But-Powerless Liberals. Instead, it is more honestly admitting that in many cases, both parties' leaders are equally vicious, powerful and corrupt.

Netflix CEO tells subscribers to expect only one season of “Arrested Development”

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 23:00:00 +0000

Update: A Netflix spokesperson has backtracked on Netflix CEO Reed Hastings's comments that the online streaming service would only host one season of the show. "We're hopeful there will be more seasons," the spokesperson told Hitfix. "If anyone can pull it together, it's going to be Ted. But by no means is this the end of it. We're definitely planning to do more with them. We have first rights, so it's not like you'd see it anywhere else. We're absolutely hopeful there will be more."

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After Netflix dropped the enire first season of "House of Cards," the new David Fincher-directed political thriller, in one day, subscribers had to struggle not to binge on all 13 episodes at once. Those that did, however, can take solace in the fact that Season 2 is on its way.

My two-day “House of Cards” bender

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 22:09:00 +0000

All 13 episodes of “House of Cards,” the ravishing, pretentious, delectable David Fincher-directed political drama, arrived on Netflix on Friday, enough TV to last you three months, or three days, whichever you prefer. In some not so far-flung future, a future that many TV watchers already inhabit some of the time, devouring series in gargantuan doses will be as unremarkable as watching a film on VHS once was. But for now, “House of Cards’” release as an all-you-can-watch proposition makes it more than just a TV show: It makes it an experiment. Spending a day or two on the couch watching it is an act of research, not just that of a total slob. Having consumed the entirety of the series in two big “research” sessions — jags of nine and then four hours — I can say that “House of Cards” is entertaining enough to reward this sort of intensive viewing, but more relevantly that this sort of intensive viewing would reward most shows. You can’t tell there's grit in your food if you don’t take the time to chew.

How Netflix is turning viewers into puppets

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:45:00 +0000

I hit the pause button roughly one-third of the way through the first episode of "House of Cards," the political drama premiering on Netflix Feb. 1. By doing so, I created what is known in the world of Big Data as an "event" -- a discrete action that could be logged, recorded and analyzed. Every single day, Netflix, by far the largest provider of commercial streaming video programming in the United States, registers hundreds of millions of such events. As a consequence, the company knows more about our viewing habits than many of us realize. Netflix doesn't know merely what we're watching, but when, where and with what kind of device we're watching. It keeps a record of every time we pause the action -- or rewind, or fast-forward -- and how many of us abandon a show entirely after watching for a few minutes.

Netflix might not know exactly why I personally hit the pause button -- I was checking on my sick son, home from school with the flu -- but if enough people pause or rewind or fast-forward at the same place during the same show, the data crunchers can start to make some inferences. Perhaps the action slowed down too much to hold viewer interest -- bored now! -- or maybe the plot became too convoluted. Or maybe that sex scene was just so hot it had to be watched again. If enough of us never end up restarting the show after taking a break, the inference could be even stronger: maybe the show just sucked.

“House of Cards” is the ultimate partisan TV show

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 14:00:00 +0000

On Friday, Netflix debuts the first season of its new series "House of Cards" -- releasing all 13 episodes at once. (A second season is guaranteed.) The show, built for binge-watching, stars Kevin Spacey as Francis Underwood, the scheming House majority whip bent on consolidating his own power -- possibly at the expense of the newly elected president.

In the show's first few minutes, Spacey's Underwood strangles a dog to death as an act of mercy; it may be the kindest thing he does in the first two episodes. He's the ultimate political creature, and on the warpath after getting passed over for the secretary of state nomination. Robin Wright plays his equally duplicitous wife, while Kate Mara plays Zoe Barnes, a young, eager journalist willing to take anything Underwood says as gospel.

The showrunner of "House of Cards" is well-acquainted with the corridors of power; Beau Willimon co-wrote the film "The Ides of March" and was a campaign worker for various Democratic Party campaigns in the 1990s and 2000s. We spoke to Willimon about the unorthodox distribution deal with Netflix and why the will to power may not be such a bad thing.

Watch a new “House of Cards” trailer

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 21:22:00 +0000

There are many reasons to order a Netflix subscription in 2013 -- one of the biggest being "House of Cards," the original series with Kevin Spacey that lands on the video and TV service this Friday. Netflix yesterday released a new trailer that gives audiences a taste of what the political drama will be about (hint: a mix of political scandal and Kevin Spacey being awesome).

The show is an adaptation from the eponymous novel by former British Conservative Party Chief of Staff Michael Dobbs. Spacey plays a “wily, murderous politician worming his way to the White House.”

Watch below: