House Of Cards Starts Filming Again With New Cast Members

BALTIMORE, MD — The Netflix series "House of Cards" has started up production again after a three-month hiatus. The entertainment company announced the final season of the series resumed operations Wednesday. The upcoming season of "House of Cards" will include two new cast members, according to Netflix, which reported Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear will be featured in the final installment of the political drama.

The announcement that the show was back in production mode came three months after sexual assault allegations were waged against the former lead actor in "House of Cards," Kevin Spacey. Actress Robin Wright will move into the spotlight as the lead character in the political drama with Spacey out, Netflix previously announced. She plays the role of Claire Underwood — a character whose political ambitions rivaled those of her husband Frank Underwood, played by Spacey.

How Wright will be related to the new cast members Lane and Kinnear remains to be seen, as Netflix has not provided details. Producers of the political drama have typically made fans wait in suspense, keeping plot lines tightly under wraps.

Lane is a prolific actress nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in "Unfaithful," released in 2002, and most recently guest starred on "The Romanoffs," an Amazon series that will be released in 2018.

Kinnear has also been nominated for an Oscar, for his role in the 1997 film "As Good As It Gets." He joins "House of Cards" after working on the film "Strange But True," which is in production.

Lane and Kinnear will play siblings in "House of Cards," according to Variety.

The final season of "House of Cards" is expected to give closure to the fans and bring back to work some 2,000 people in the Baltimore area, according to a report from Deadline.

Production was pushed back several times after the sexual assault allegations so that writers could revise the scripts to cut Spacey out, Deadline reported.

Spacey was suspended by the production company, and Netflix severed its ties with him after he was accused by actor Anthony Rapp, who is now 46, of making a sexual advance when Rapp was 14. In a statement to address the allegations, Spacey said that if he did behave as Rapp alleged, then he owed him the sincerest apology. Spacey claims that he does not remember the encounter.

Production on season six of "House of Cards" was suspended on Oct. 31, 2017.

Distancing itself from Spacey cost Netflix $39 million, from the stalled "House of Cards" and cancellation of a film that was in post-production starring Spacey about the life of Gore Vidal, according to Newsweek.

"House of Cards" is the first original series released by Netflix. It has won seven Emmys and two Golden Globes since it aired in 2013.

The show has been filming in Harford County, north of Baltimore, since 2012.

"House of Cards" operates a sound stage based out of a warehouse in Joppa and has used local sites to film various scenes including Harford Community College, the Havre de Grace Library, Liriodendron Mansion and a Level Road antique store, among others. It has also used Towson for various scenes.

There have been indications that production was ramping up.

A casting call on Jan. 13 in Bel Air sought paid background performers for a "popular political drama," and a photo shoot with a similar pitch was held in Joppa on Jan. 25.

Firefighters and aspiring firefighters, who have their own uniforms, are needed for a casting call on Friday, Feb. 2, in the Baltimore-Owings Mills area, also for a "popular political drama."

Netflix has not yet issued a release date for season six of "House of Cards."

• House Of Cards Season 6 Production To Resume In 2018 Minus Spacey
• Kevin Spacey Suspended From House Of Cards: Production Company
• 'House of Cards' Maryland Production Delayed For 2 More Weeks

Patch editors Deb Belt and Feroze Dhanoa contributed to the reporting.

Actress Robin Wright arrives at the special screening of Netflix's "House of Cards" Season 2 at the Directors Guild Of America on Feb. 13, 2014, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)