Netflix sets date for 'House of Cards' debut

By Joe Flint

Oct. 4, 2012 12 AM PT

“House of Cards,” the first original series from Netflix, will be available for streaming starting on Feb. 1, 2013.

Starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright and executive produced by David Fincher, who directed “The Social Network” and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “House of Cards is a political drama set in Washington. The show is being produced by Media Rights Capital.

For Netflix, “House of Cards” is a big bet. It is paying about $4 million per episode for the show and it ordered 26 episodes before even seeing a pilot. All 13 debut-season episodes will be available at once, as opposed to offering new shows on a weekly basis the way a traditional television network does.

Netflix is making a big push to offer more original content to distinguish itself from other streaming services and also so it is less reliant on Hollywood for movies and TV series to feed its customer base.

Other shows in the works at Netflix include new episodes of the cult hit “Arrested Development.”