MUMBAI: House of Cards, the television series and political thriller from executive producer David Fincher and starring actor Kevin Spacey, will debut exclusively in the US and Canada from Netflix, the Internet subscription service for enjoying movies and TV shows.

Netflix has committed to a minimum of 26 episodes of the Media Rights Capital drama, which is expected to be available to the 20 million Netflix members, beginning in late 2012. Fincher, the Oscar-nominated director of The Social Network and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, will direct the pilot written by Beau Willimon (Farragut North and film adaptation, The Ides of March). A satirical tale of power, corruption and lies, House of Cards is based on the book and acclaimed BBC mini-series of the same name.
 
Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said, "The gripping, serialized one hour drama has become a very important part of the Netflix experience. David Fincher‘s unique vision, the indelible performances of Kevin Spacey and the original version of ‘House of Cards’, all have a big following among our members, giving the series a very good chance of becoming a fan favorite. We are thrilled to be working with this amazing team."

Originally written as a novel by former U.K. Conservative Party Chief of Staff Michael Dobbs, House of Cards explores the ruthless underside of British politics at the end of the Thatcher era. Reset against the backdrop of modern-day U.S. electoral politics, the new one-hour drama follows an ambitious politician (Spacey) with his eye on the top job.
 
Scripts for 13 episodes will be delivered before production on the House of Cards pilot begins next year. Production on subsequent episodes will commence several months later, allowing producers time to carefully develop the series.