House of Cards is folding: The Netflix drama’s forthcoming sixth season will be the series’ last, TVLine has learned. 
 
 News of the political drama’s impending swan song comes less than 24 hours after actor Anthony Rapp accused House of Cards leading man Kevin Spacey of making a sexual advance at him when he was 14. Multiple sources confirm, however, that the decision to bring HoC to an end was made months ago and was not in response to the allegations. (A Netlix rep confirms this.) 
 
 Last June, TVLine asked House of Cards co-showrunners Melissa James Gibson and Frank Pugliese about an end date, to which they responded, “It’s not entirely up to us,” before acknowledging that the show is in “new terrain” creatively. 
 
 At the conclusion of Season 5, Spacey’s Francis handed the Commander in Chief reins over to wife/first lady Claire (Robin Wright) and exited the political arena (at least the official one) altogether. “It’s a significant pivot at the end of Season 5,” Gibson noted. “We’re saying that there’s power beyond the power. That’s a radical thing for the show to say that there’s power beyond the presidency. That’s been the be-all and end-all for five seasons. I think there’s definitely more to dig into there.” 
 
 Production on House of Cards‘ sixth and final season began earlier this month despite the fact that Netflix never officially confirmed that it had even ordered a Season 6. (The streamer has always played by its own unique rules when it comes to announcing renewals.) 
 
 Regarding Rapp’s allegations, Spacey released a statement late Sunday saying he was “beyond horrified to hear [Rapp’s] story,” adding, “I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago. But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years.” 
 
 Spacey also took the opportunity to set the record straight about his sexuality. “I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man,” he said. The Oscar winner’s statement was met with a swift backlash from the gay community, with GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis lamenting, “Coming-out stories should not be used to deflect from allegations of sexual assault.” 
 
 House of Cards creator Beau Willimon, who stepped away from the series at the end of Season 4, released a statement of his own via Twitter early Monday. 
 
 My statement regarding Anthony Rapp and Kevin Spacey: pic.twitter.com/8z6zotHWE5 — Beau Willimon (@BeauWillimon) October 30, 2017 
 
 House of Cards‘ sixth and final season will premiere in 2018. ||||| Embattled two-time Oscar winner and House of Cards star Kevin Spacey released a statement through his PR reps tonight saying he will “seek evaluation and treatment” in light of sexual abuse allegations levied against him by Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp. 
 
 “Kevin Spacey is taking the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment,” said Staci Wolfe of Polaris. “No other information is available at this time.” 
 
 The statement comes as Spacey is dealing with allegations that he made sexual advances on Rapp in 1986, when the younger actor was 14. Spacey soon apologized for the incident, saying he was “horrified” by the story and does not remember the encounter. In that same statement, he also said, “I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose to live as a gay man.” 
 
 That did not sit well with a number of groups including gay advocacy org GLAAD. Mere hours after Spacey’s statement, the group’s president Sarah Kate Ellis tweeted, “Coming out stories should not be used to deflect from allegations of sexual assault.” 
 
 Reaction has been swift since the news broke Monday: Netflix first said it was canceling D.C. drama House of Cards after the upcoming sixth season, saying it was “deeply troubled” by the allegations, then suspended production on those episodes indefinitely hours later. 
 
 More hammers fell the following day as Spacey’s masterclass was dropped from an online instructional video hub and a reference to the actor was deleted from last night’s episode of NBC’s This Is Us. On Wednesday morning, more men came forward with allegations that Spacey abused them. ||||| Media Rights Capital says it has also set up an anonymous complaint hotline, crisis counselors and sexual harassment legal advisors for the show's crew in light of recent allegations. 
 
 Netflix and House of Cards producer Media Rights Capital are responding to new allegations of sexual harassment made against Kevin Spacey. 
 
 In a CNN report Thursday, multiple employees of the Netflix series accused the star and executive producer of inappropriate behavior. One production assistant claimed that Spacey put his hands down the assistant's pants without consent while he was driving Spacey to the set. He then alleged that Spacey cornered him and touched him inappropriately. 
 
 Another crewmember on the political drama said Spacey "would put his hands on me in weird ways," including massaging his shoulders and touching his stomach. Six other employees from the show talked with CNN about their experiences with the actor. 
 
 In a statement, MRC responded to the latest allegations and confirmed a previous allegation of sexual harassment by Spacey in 2012. 
 
 “We are deeply troubled to learn about these new allegations that are being made to the press concerning Kevin Spacey’s interaction with members of the crew of House of Cards. As the producer of the show, creating and maintaining a safe working environment for our cast and crew has always been our top priority," the company said. 
 
 "We have consistently reinforced the importance of employees reporting any incident without fear of retaliation and we have investigated and taken appropriate actions following any complaints," the statement continued. "For example, during our first year of production in 2012, someone on the crew shared a complaint about a specific remark and gesture made by Kevin Spacey. Immediate action was taken following our review of the situation and we are confident the issue was resolved promptly to the satisfaction of all involved. Mr. Spacey willingly participated in a training process and since that time MRC has not been made aware of any other complaints involving Mr. Spacey." 
 
 The company also said that it has set up an anonymous complaint hotline, crisis counselors and sexual harassment legal advisors for the crew in the wake of the accusations made. "MRC will continue to thoroughly investigate all current claims and any new claims that are formally brought to our attention, and will continue to monitor our own production and practices to ensure that our cast and crew feel safe and supported," the company added. 
 
 Netflix also issued a new statement Thursday regarding the latest claims made against Spacey: “When the allegations broke about Kevin Spacey on Sunday night, in conjunction with MRC, we sent a representative to set on Monday morning. Netflix was just made aware of one incident, five years ago, that we were informed was resolved swiftly. On Tuesday, in collaboration with MRC, we suspended production, knowing that Kevin Spacey wasn’t scheduled to work until Wednesday. Netflix is not aware of any other incidents involving Kevin Spacey on-set. We continue to collaborate with MRC and other production partners to maintain a safe and respectful working environment. We will continue to work with MRC during this hiatus time to evaluate our path forward as it relates to the production, and have nothing further to share at this time.” 
 
 The accusations follow those made by Star Trek actor Anthony Rapp, who alleged in a Oct. 29 BuzzFeed News article that Spacey made sexual advances towards him in 1986 when Spacey was 26 and Rapp was 14. Spacey tweeted a statement offering his "sincerest apology" to Rapp but said he did not remember the incident. In the statement, he also came out as gay, a move which was criticized by many in Hollywood as well as GLAAD. 
 
 On Monday, Netflix and MRC confirmed the upcoming sixth season of the series, which had already started production, would be its last. (Media Rights Capital is co-owned by Eldridge Industries, which also owns The Hollywood Reporter.) 
 
 In a joint statement, the companies said they were "deeply troubled" by the accusations. Executives from both companies traveled to the Maryland set to discuss the situation with cast and crew to ensure their safety. On Tuesday, Netflix and MRC suspended production on the series indefinitely. 
 
 On Wednesday, Spacey's rep said he is "taking the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment" in the wake of the allegations.
– After actor Anthony Rapp made his explosive accusation that Kevin Spacey attempted to have a sexual encounter with him when Rapp was just 14, Spacey quickly apologized. But that apology itself has been under withering criticism all day, with the main complaint being that Spacey also used his note to come out as gay and, as critics see it, deflect attention from Rapp's allegation. Meanwhile, the upcoming sixth season of House and Cards is still in the works, but it will be the last, a decision that TVLine reports is unrelated to the new controversy. Here's a look at developments: