"House of Cards" season 6 production suspended, Netflix says
LOS ANGELES -- Netflix and the maker of "House of Cards" said Tuesday that production on the show starring Kevin Spacey has been suspended, according to a statement to CBS News.
In a joint statement, Netflix and producer Media Rights Capital (MRC) say production was put on hold to review the situation.
"MRC and Netflix have decided to suspend production on 'House of Cards' season six, until further notice, to give us time to review the current situation and to address any concerns of our cast and crew," the statement says.
A Netflix spokeswoman declined to provide further details about the action. On Monday, executives from the two companies traveled to the Baltimore, Maryland, set to meet with actors and others involved in the production. Spacey was not scheduled to work that day.
The political satire is filming its sixth and final season amid fallout from a 1980s sexual abuse allegation leveled at Spacey by a former child star.
The streaming service announced Monday that its Emmy-winning show would come to an end after next season, a decision it says was made before Spacey was accused of trying to seduce actor Anthony Rapp in 1986.
In an interview with BuzzFeed, Rapp, who now stars in "Star Trek: Discovery," said Spacey befriended him while they both performed on Broadway shows. Rapp was 14 when he attended a party at Spacey's apartment in 1986, he said. At the end of the night, an inebriated Spacey picked him up, placed him on his bed and climbed on top of him, Rapp said.
Spacey has apologized for the incident he said he doesn't recall but would have stemmed from "drunken behavior." He also spoke publicly for the first time about being gay, which drew backlash from some observers as an attempt at deflection.
Rapp confirmed to CBS News the account published on BuzzFeed and said he had come forward, "standing on the shoulders of the many courageous women and men who have been speaking out, to shine a light and hopefully make a difference, as they have done for me."
A release date for the final "House of Cards" episodes has yet to be announced. Netflix is developing a possible spinoff of the drama that helped put the streaming service on the TV series map.