Photo: David Giesbrecht/Netflix
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Netflix has confirmed production will resume after the new year on the final season of House of Cards.

The streaming platform announced Monday the show is moving forward with an eight-episode final installment of the political drama, with Robin Wright in the lead after Kevin Spacey's abrupt firing last month following a number of claims of sexual misconduct.

While the network is said to have been planning for season 6 to be the final round of House of Cards, Spacey's termination halted production, despite having already shot the first two episodes. Writers quickly began "reworking" scripts and developing alternate storylines. 

Perhaps aiding the transition is that seasons 4 and 5 had already built Wright's Claire Underwood up to the Oval Office, with last season ending as Spacey's Frank Underwood had just resigned from the presidency, with the walls beginning to close in on him. "Don’t you see? I’ve designed this. I wanted you to be the president," Frank tells his wife. "I’ve made you the President."

But the last scene of season 5 wraps with Claire alone in the Oval Office, rejecting Frank's phone call and then turning to the camera. "My turn," she says, informing viewers she is finally in charge. Ironically, that turned out to be very true. 

As of this writing, it's still unclear how House of Cards might eliminate Frank, but an offscreen death seems to be most plausible. "We are excited to bring closure to fans," Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos said today in a statement.