'House of Cards' spinoff in the works?

Netflix's vanguard original series has several spinoff possibilities in early development, a report says.

Joan E. Solsman Former Senior Reporter

Joan E. Solsman was CNET's senior media reporter, covering the intersection of entertainment and technology. She's reported from locations spanning from Disneyland to Serbian refugee camps, and she previously wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. She bikes to get almost everywhere and has been doored only once.

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Three Folio Eddie award wins: 2018 science & technology writing (Cartoon bunnies are hacking your brain), 2021 analysis (Deepfakes' election threat isn't what you'd think) and 2022 culture article (Apple's CODA Takes You Into an Inner World of Sign)

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Joan E. Solsman

Oct. 31, 2017 11:23 a.m. PT

hoc-504-unit-00167r1 — Netflix's "House of Cards" will end after its next season, but a spinoff is reportedly in the works.
David Giesbrecht/Netflix

"House of Cards" may be a lame duck, but its successor is already being groomed.

The companies behind the Netflix original series are in the "very early stages" of developing ideas for a spinoff of the show, according to a Variety report.

Netflix declined to comment.

One spinoff concept would follow the character Doug Stamper, who plays a loyal aide to Kevin Spacey's scheming politician Frank Underwood; former "House of Cards" producer Eli Roth is tapped to write, according to the report. Two other spinoff ideas are also being explored, the report said.

Premiering in 2013, "House of Cards" was Netflix's first original series to generate widespread buzz and acclaim. An early Emmys darling, "House of Cards" helped vault Netflix into the higher ranks of Hollywood and threw fuel on its fledgling strategy to make its own programming, rather than just relying on licensing the movies and shows made by others.

Monday, Netflix confirmed that the show would end next year after its sixth season, but later Tuesday Netflix said it was suspending production of that season, following an allegation that Spacey made unwanted sexual advances toward a minor three decades ago. Spacey says he doesn't recall the incident.

First published Oct. 31, 9:41 a.m. PT
Update, 11:23 a.m.: Adds mention of allegation against Spacey. 12:03 p.m.: Adds that Netflix is suspending production of original series.