When House of Cards - Season 1 premiered on February 1, 2013, it did more than just introduce audiences to the Machiavellian machinations of Frank Underwood. It fundamentally altered the landscape of television. At a time when streaming was still considered a secondary market for reruns, Netflix took a billion-dollar gamble, commissioning two full seasons of a political drama sight-unseen. The result was a cultural phenomenon that proved streaming services could produce "prestige TV" on par with HBO and AMC.
Thus begins a 13-episode course in remorseless ambition. Frank, alongside his equally ruthless wife Claire Underwood (Robin Wright), declares war on the new administration. He sabotages the President’s education bill, manipulates a strike in Pennsylvania, grooms a naïve young reporter (Zoe Barnes), and orchestrates the political suicide of the Vice President—all so he can slide into the power vacuum. house of cards - season 1