House of Cards

The American adaptation of a British miniseries, House of Cards tells the tale of Frank Underwood, a Southern politician and House Majority Whip whose thirst for political revenge and machinations for power are boundless. Kevin Spacey plays the perfect antihero ruthless yet charming, amoral yet seemingly in-line with the norms and practices of cut-throat politics. Robin Wright is beguiling as the ambitious other half of this Washington power couple. As Underwood breaks down the fourth wall, directly addressing the camera, he guides the viewer through a modern-day tutorial of Machiavellian politics. House of Cards popularized the Netflix model for original content by releasing all 13 episodes at once, inviting audiences to binge-watch the story as one cinematic whole. For broaching new possibilities for television storytelling and investing them with characters and plot turns at once wildly exaggerated and yet as unsurprising as the evening news, House of Cards receives a Peabody Award.