When Will 'House of Cards' Season 3 Air?

UPDATE: Here's great news for fans of the political thriller: House of Cards Season 3 will hit Netflix on Feb. 27, 2015. The thing about the amazing Netflix original series that we've been gifted with is this: They all premiere at ONCE, and have reinvented the act of "binge-watching." That means there's an inordinate amount of time spent waiting, speculating in agony about possible spoilers, and sopping up any morsel of rumor of new seasons as the year passes. Since we've already sussed out the theories that we think might pop up in House of Cards Season 3, what's left to speculate about besides the date of its illustrious return? Let's look at the facts (and fictions) that might point to just when House of Cards Season 3 is going to return.

And yes, I know it's a little strange thinking about House of Cards when we're all currently in the midst of digesting and maybe rewatching the goodness that was Orange Is the New Black's second season. It debuted on June 6, and there's still plenty to discuss, recaps to read, and characters to decipher, so we're not quite desperate for OINTB's third season — not just yet.

But we're still reeling from the beginning and end of House of Cards Season 2, which came and went in a blaze of glory on Valentine's Day, 2014. So yeah, we're ready to think about its third season.

Here's what we know about its return.

1. Seasons 1 and 2 were about a year apart.

The first season of House of Cards debuted on Feb. 1, 2013, and it blindsided all of us. Kevin Spacey as the vile yet charming Francis Underwood and his glorious partner in crime Claire (Robin Wright) were more than captivating in David Fincher's deep, dark Washington. No one knew just how big a phenomenon it would become, how talented the cast would be, how ensnaring the plot.

There was enormous anticipation between Season 1 and Season 2, and the second season debuted on Feb. 14, 2014, just about a year after the first installment, with plenty of good omens from David Fincher's win at the 65th Emmys for Best Directing. So based on the space between the first two seasons, we can expect Season 3 in early February 2015.

2. Orange Is the New Black, however, came back in 11 months.

Don't know if the demand was higher for Piper and Pals, but the first season of OITNB debuted on July 11, 2013, and the second season popped up on Netflix on June 6, 2014, easing us of a whole extra month of Litchfield-less pain! Is it because OITNB ended on such a cliffhanger in Season 1? It's unclear why the second season came back a little early, but could that bode well for House of Cards, too?

Maybe we'll get President Frank Underwood in January 2015, around the time of an ACTUAL inauguration, for some semblance of ironic continuity? Or it could go the other way and debut later, just to make us all scream internally a little more.

3. But... The EMMYS!

The 66th Annual Emmys could change everything. Depending on whether or not Kevin Spacey or Robin Wright pick up any statues this year, that could definitely affect the return of House of Cards' third season. If they do win, it seems more likely that the showrunners would push back the third season to be both pains in the asses and to create even more buzz.

My guess? I think House of Cards will return, unfortunately, later in 2015. Although we've come to expect the dark show as a February fixture, I think the sinister possibilities of a world where Frank Underwood is president will allow Netflix to make us wait just a little bit longer. Perhaps... on the Ides of March?

That would be as symbolic a return as any for this political thriller.

Images: Tumblr.