House of Cards (season 1)
The first season of the American television drama series "House of Cards" premiered exclusively via Netflix's web streaming service on February 1, 2013. The season was produced by Media Rights Capital, and the executive producers are David Fincher, Kevin Spacey, Eric Roth, Joshua Donen, Dana Brunetti, Andrew Davies, Michael Dobbs, John Melfi, and Beau Willimon. "House of Cards" was created for television by Beau Willimon. It is an adaptation of a previous BBC miniseries of the same name by Andrew Davies, which was based on the novel by Michael Dobbs. Set in present-day  Washington, D.C., "House of Cards" is the story of Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), a Democrat from South Carolina's 5th congressional district and the House Majority Whip, who, after getting passed over for appointment as Secretary of State, decides to exact his revenge on those who betrayed him. The series also stars Robin Wright, Kate Mara, and Corey Stoll in lead roles. The fifth and sixth episodes of this season marked the final directing work of Joel Schumacher. Episodes. <onlyinclude></onlyinclude> Reception. Critical response. The first season received positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, the season received a weighted  mean score of 76 out of 100 based on 25 reviews, which translates to "generally positive reception." On Rotten Tomatoes, the season received a score of 85% with an average rating of 8.2 out of 10 based on 39 reviews; the site's consensus reads, "Bolstered by strong performances — especially from Kevin Spacey — and surehanded direction, "House of Cards" is a slick, engrossing drama that may redefine how television is produced." "USA Today" critic Robert Bianco praised the series, particularly Spacey and Wright's lead performances, stating "If you think network executives are nervous, imagine the actors who have to  go up against that pair in the Emmys." Tom Gilatto of "People Weekly" lauded the first two episodes, calling them "cinematically rich, full of sleek, oily pools of darkness." In her review for "The Denver Post", Joanne Ostrow said the series is "Deeply cynical about human beings as well as politics and almost gleeful in its portrayal of limitless ambition." She added: ""House of Cards" is a wonderfully sour take on power and corruption." Awards. On July 18, 2013, "House of Cards" became the first Primetime Emmy Award nominated series for original online only web television for the 65th Primetime  Emmy Awards. Among those nine nominations were Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Kevin Spacey, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Robin Wright, and Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for David Fincher. The first season was also nominated for Casting, Cinematography, Editing, Music, and Main Title Music at the 65th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. On September 15, the series became the first web television series and the first web television webisode to be Primetime Emmy Awarded with two wins at the 65th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards: Eigil Bryld for Outstanding  Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series and Laray Mayfield and Julie Schubert for Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series. On September 22, Netflix made history with a total three wins including Fincher's Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for directing the pilot episode "Chapter 1" in addition to the pair of Creative Arts Emmy Awards, making "Chapter 1" the first Primetime Emmy-awarded webisode. None of the Emmy awards were considered to be in major categories, however. Spacey received best actor nominations at the 20th Screen Actors Guild Awards, 71st Golden Globe Awards, and 18th Satellite Awards. Wright won  best actress at both the 71st Golden Globe Awards and 18th Satellite Awards, while Stoll was nominated at both for supporting actor and the series was nominated at both for best drama. Wright's Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama for her portrayal of Claire Underwood made her the first actress to win a Golden Globe Award for an online-only web television series. The show won a 2013 Peabody Award for Area of Excellence. At the 3rd Critics' Choice Television Awards, Kevin Spacey and Corey Stoll were nominated for Best Drama Actor and Best Drama Supporting  Actor, respectively. The show has also been nominated at the 29th TCA Awards for the Outstanding New Program and the Program of the Year. The show was also nominated at the 40th People's Choice Awards for Favorite Streaming Series, at the Producers Guild of America Awards 2013 for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama, at the 66th Directors Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series, at the Writers Guild of America Awards 2013 for , and , winning new series. In addition, the success of "House of Cards" and popularity of "Breaking Bad", both of which are only available  in the United Kingdom online has caused a rule change for the British Academy Television Awards and British Academy Television Craft Awards beginning with the ceremonies for the 2013 calendar year on May 18, 2014 and April 27, 2014, respectively. At the 2014 British Academy Television Awards the show was nominated for Best International Programme. Home media. The first season was released on DVD and Blu-ray in region 1 on June 11, 2013, in region 2 on June 10, 2013, and in region 4 on June 27, 2013. Director's commentaries for all of the first-season episodes premiered  on Netflix on January 3, 2014. They had not been included on the home video release.