The US presidential election is coming up early next year and as if to ride on the coattails of the ongoing campaign trails of American presidential wannabes, Netflix has released the first official “House of Cards” Season 4 teaser during the GOP debate on CNN on December 16.
The teaser was in the form of a short clip which is cleverly constructed like a campaign ad. In it, Frank Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey, was quoted as saying to America that he was only getting started.
Critics look at his words as either a promise or a threat, depending on how people know who the real Frank Underwood is, especially with his slippery Southern accent, notes Slash Film.
The teaser also shows the incumbent American president carrying the official campaign title FU2016, obviously meant to drumbeat Frank Underwood for his presidential re-election hopes.
Stealing the thunder
The “House of Cards” Season 4 teaser actually stole the thunder from the GOP debate that featured Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump from the Republican debate.
For TV fanatics, it was obvious that it was Frank Underwood who emerged victorious that night, especially when the teaser also disclosed that “House of Cards” Season 4 shall officially premiere on Netflix on March 4.
It would be the first time that the American political drama TV series would premiere on a March since, over the past three seasons, it has always begun its 13-episode run per season every February.
The producers have also taken the initiative to create an FU2016.com website to serve as Frank Underwood’s campaign site.
Over the course of three seasons of “House of Cards,” viewers have seen Frank Underwood climb from South Carolina congressman to vice president and to president via good-old-fashioned manipulation, blackmailing, and murder too.
It would be interesting what new heights will Frank reaches in Season 4 or what new lows he will stoop down to in order to get what he wants.
Personal turmoil
Frank Underwood is known for his conniving and scheming ways but during the Season 3 finale of “House of Cards,” he was seen having his personal struggles especially following his blowout breakup with his wife Claire, played by Robin Wright, points out the Sydney Morning Herald.
Interestingly, despite his personal struggles, Frank is still managing to put up a good and happy front in the campaign trail, even using the slogan ‘Anything for America,’ which some critics believe is an allusion that Frank’s treacherous ways may reach a new high in Season 4.
“House of Cards” is a critically-acclaimed TV series that has been nominated for a number of times in the Golden Globes and Emmy Awards, which make it the first online-only web series to do so.
There have been previous reports that Frank and Claire Underwood would pick up from their blowout breakup during the Season 3 finale and split for good and be political enemies. However, subsequent reports seem to have recanted those by stating that that the First Couple would reunite once again but only for public consumption.
In a recent interview with showrunner Beau Willimon, he confirmed that much of the focus of Season 4 is about how Frank will cope with the breakup with Claire.
He said that the upcoming season would reveal what would become of Frank without Claire, adding that the separation of the pair has been in the works since the second season.
Willimon said that while they know that the strength of the show is anchored on the strength of the marriage of Frank and Claire but when they started toying with the idea of the split, there was no turning back for them.