House of Cards Season 6: Claire Underwood Takes Power After #MeToo Scandal

The sixth and final season of House of Cards premiered on Netflix in November 2018, following the dismissal of Kevin Spacey due to sexual misconduct allegations. The season centers on Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) as the first female President of the United States, after the death of her husband Frank Underwood. New characters include Annette and Bill Shepherd (Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear), siblings leading a powerful industrial company, and Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) investigates Frank's death from a psychiatric facility. The season also features returning characters Janine Skorsky (Constance Zimmer), Seth Grayson (Derek Cecil), Mark Usher (Campbell Scott), and Tom Hammerschmidt (Boris McGiver). Directed by Alik Sakharov, the season received criticism for its predictable plot and failure to match earlier seasons' narrative intensity. The show's shift toward political correctness and female empowerment was seen as a response to the #MeToo movement, but critics argue it reduced complex themes to a simplistic gender conflict. The article, written by Luigi Affabile for Artribune, reflects on the series' decline and the controversy surrounding Spacey's removal.