On Friday, Netflix released their much-hyped original TV series House of Cards. Was it worth the wait? Should they make season two or cancel it now?
Based on a novel by Michael Dobbs and a BBC mini-series, House of Cards revolves around a devious congressman (Kevin Spacey) and his wife (Robin Wright) who’ll stop at nothing to execute his plans to reach higher office.
Others in the cast include Kate Mara, Corey Stoll, Michael Kelly, Kristen Connolly, Constance Zimmer, Sebastian Arcelus, Sandrine Holt, Michael Gill, Dan Ziskie, Sakina Jaffrey, Ben Daniels, Mahershala Ali, and Rachel Brosnahan.
Unlike a traditional network, Netflix released all 13 episodes of House of Cards’ first season at once, so customers can stream them on their own schedule. With DVR usage becoming more and more prevalent, people obviously like this option but it remains to be seen if the strategy will pay off for Netflix’s desire to attract and hold onto new subscribers.
Netflix hasn’t said yet if they consider House of Cards to be a success or not. According to Sandvine, a company that tracks the volume of Internet data usage, Netflix is the largest source of Internet traffic. Sandvine also says that there was no significant change in Netflix traffic this past weekend — meaning there was no spike in viewing when House of Cards became available. It’s unclear if the Super Bowl was taken into account.
Meanwhile, Procera Networks measures web traffic for several of the larger Internet providers. They estimate that 11% of Netflix subscribers that visited the site watched at least one episode of the series.
The first few episodes were, not surprisingly, the most-watched but later episodes were viewed as well. It seems that the last episode of the season was watched by about 28% of the people who watched the first episode. Curiously, more people viewed the 13th installment than watched episodes nine, 10, 11, or 12.
Netflix won’t release new subscriber numbers until its next earnings announcement so we may not know how well House of Cards has been received for awhile. However, Netflix reportedly ordered two seasons up front so either way, it looks like we’ll see a second season.
But, what do you think? Have you seen House of Cards? Did you watch the 13 episodes one at a time, all at once, or some variation in between? Do you want to see more? Should the show be cancelled or are you looking forward to season two?
KEEP KEEP KEEP!
I watched the whole series (13 episodes) in a period of two weeks. I found the series to be highly entertaining. The acting was superb and worthy of recognition for an award. Kevin Spacey performance was flawless and the supporting cast was excellent. Kevin Spacey should be nominated for best actor in a drama series. His character (Frank Underwood) is the Tony Soprano of politics. He is ruthlesslike Tony and gets the job done but at the end of the day there are casualties. In my book, if you like politics, it is a must see.
KEEP THIS SHOW….Saw it in four days, I would pay an addtinal $ 30.00 for season 2
KEEP THIS SHOW….Saw it in three days and am on the edge of my seat for season 2…..
Only 2 seasons? You’ve got to be kidding. Looking forward to streaming season 2, 3 4 5 …. as soon as they are released. Great job NETFLIX!
I just finished the last episode and am searching for information about when season 2 comes out. I do not have cable tv and really do not want or need it, with this kind of quality programming available at my convenience. Kevin Spacey is deliciously evil and the rest of the cast is just perfect.
I renewed my subscription to Netflix just because of this series. I watched it over a span of a couple of weeks, watching about 2-3 episodes per sitting. I thought the series was high quality and look forward to more!
Talk about quality 360! I got hooked on episode 1 and the next thing I knew I was on 13. The characters were well defined and the storyline moved along like a Swiss watch. Kudos to NetFlix for airing all episodes at once without the annoying weeks wait that usually breaks momentum… Way to go NetFlix. Looking forward to Season 2 and more.
Love the series I hope it lasts
Great show. I got addicted to it. I hope it lasts. Not much better out there.
Was drawn in the first 15 minutes of episode 1. High quality series with excellent acting, writing, and filming. Hope the wait won’t be long for season two.
Hooked, love the ability to view episodes at my leasure, It would be a huge mistake for Netflix not to purchase more seasons. Mixture of cast is great.
please please keep it going!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Completed all 13 episodes in a week – love it! What is the projected release of the next?
Hate getting hooked, only to find that the follow up is cancelled ——–
I love House of Cards! Been promoting it to my 3000+ friends on Facebook! I am a fan of having multiple episodes to watch one after another, instead of waiting a week in between each one. I watched all 13 episodes in a row, this past weekend when I was snowed in. I am assuming the 13th episode may have gotten more play from the Netflix subscribers because it was watched more than once? Great season finale and I’m psyched to see more!