'House of Cards' Production Hiatus Extended After Kevin Spacey’s Exit

"These last two months have tested and tried all of us in ways none of us could have foreseen," Pauline Micelli, MRC Senior Vice President, wrote in the letter. "The one thing we have learned throughout this process is that this production is bigger than just one person and we could not be more proud to be associated with one of the most loyal and talented production cast and crews in this business."

The show was officially suspended "indefinitely" in the wake of multiple allegations of sexual abuse brought against its star, Kevin Spacey, beginning with "Star Trek: Discovery" actor Anthony Rapp. Production had just begun on the sixth and final season of the political series.

Netflix officially cut ties with Spacey as allegations continued to come in, leaving the future of the series uncertain. The Season 5 finale saw Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) ascend to the presidency, leaving storytelling possibilities open that could exclude Spacey's character, her husband and now-former president Frank Underwood.

Writers and producers for "House of Cards" have not revealed details as to how far into production they were on Season 6, or how aggressively they might have to change it to accommodate Spacey's absence. They haven't even said with certainty yet that the show will continue.

Fans made their voices heard via social media, with many of them calling for Wright to take over the lead role, Frank's character to be killed off, and a new era for the series to begin.

The letter from Media Rights Capital closed by promising an additional update by December 8, the final day of the paid hiatus. Kevin Spacey has denied all of the allegations brought against him and announced he was seeking unspecified treatment.

MRC's complete letter reads as follows:

Dear Cast and Crew,

As we move into the holidays, we want to express our appreciation for all of the meaningful messages of support we have received from you and want to update all of our loyal cast and crew on our progress and where things currently stand.

We continue to work with Netflix with the hope of resuming production soon. As we continue these discussions, we have determined together that the crew will be paid for an additional two week hiatus – beginning on November 27th and continuing through December 8th.

In addition to the writers, there will be a small contingency of office/accounting staff who will remain in the production office on a continuous basis. Our hope is that the entire crew will be able to reconvene when production resumes, but we want you to know that we will certainly understand if crew members need to find other work in the interim, which will prevent them from re-joining us. We sincerely appreciate all you have done.

Cast and other union members who are not actively working will be paid in accordance with applicable union guidelines through this period and we will be reaching out directly to your representatives to work through the details; we will get to everyone as quickly as possible and appreciate all of your patience here.

These last two months have tested and tried all of us in ways none of us could have foreseen. The one thing we have learned throughout this process is that this production is bigger than just one person and we could not be more proud to be associated with one of the most loyal and talented production cast and crews in this business.

We will provide an additional update by 12/8/17.

Thank you all.

Pauline Micelli