Showrunner Beau Willimon and the writers of Netflix's popular political drama House Of Cards are notoriously tight-lipped about Season 3 details. And the run-up to the highly-anticipated third (and perhaps final) season is no different. In fact, it may be worse: the fate of a fan-favorite hangs in the balance, and Frank just became President of the United States — which means he has nowhere to go but down.
Of course, the best places to begin searching for clues are casting announcements. The promotion of a cast member to a regular surely signals an increased focus on their character. Likewise, a demotion can spoil a sudden departure (read: death). And the new characters being cast can give a hint on the shape of the new season. Unfortunately, the House Of Cards camp is just as mum on casting as they are on plot points.
To date, there has been one casting call breakdown released for the show's third season. It contains the following non-spoilery roles:
- ER Doctor: Male or Female: 38-43, harried and tired
- Reporter-Susan: Female: 35-55 years old, open ethnicity
- Reporter-Geoff: Male: 35-55 years old, open ethnicity
- Photographer: Male: 42-48 years old, open ethnicity. Photography experience essential.
- Colonel: Male: 50-60 years old, open ethnicity, military
- NSA Director: Male or Female: 45-55 years old, open ethnicity
- Chairman: Male: 50-60 years old, part of senate
- Senator Torn: Male: 58-62 years old, Southern senator
- Senator Everett: Female: 45-55 years old, academic
- Detective Smith: Male: 35-48 years old, open ethnicity, blue collar
- Bette: Female: 32-36 years old, open ethnicity, good with hands, smart, pretty, capable
So, Season 3 of House Of Cards will feature senators, reporters, doctors, and colonels. What an earth-shattering revelation. Sounds like any season of the show. The most intriguing characters here are definitely the Photographer (Could he have something to do with the Claire/Adam storyline?); the Detective (Will Zoe's death finally be under investigation?); and Bette (Why does she have to be good with her hands?).
While we wait for more news from the HoC camp, here are some characters that we're hoping to see again next year. Are you paying attention, writers?
Doug Stamper
The future of Frank's Chief Of Staff is the most up in the air after taking a rock to the skull in the final moments of the Season 2 finale — and he's the character whose fate would become most clear with any bit of casting news. Is actor Michael Kelly in Season 3? Then Doug lives. Is he not? Say bye-bye to Stamper. Personally, we're hoping he survives the bludgeoning Rachel gave him in the woods. In a show filled with amoral characters, Frank's right-hand man is actually one of the quietly scariest: the kind of man so loyal he'll do absolutely whatever it takes in service of his beloved boss.
Rachel Posner
We've already gone in-depth about how much we need to see Rachel again next season. She's one of the only characters on the show who exists outside of the ugly world of political intrigue. We need someone who's not a politician or businessman to relate to, and thus Rachel is our entrance to the more human side of this story. (Zoe fulfilled a similar role in Season 1, but we all know how that turned out.) The show would suffer without her presence, so we're hoping that her head-bashing incident isn't the last we see of Rachel.
Edward Meechum
Even in a season filled with more than one shocking death and the downfall of the most powerful man in the world, perhaps the most surprising moment was the threesome between Frank, Claire, and their Secret Service bodyguard. We definitely need to see more from this hunky agent. (Preferably a lot more, if you catch my drift.)
Jackie Sharp
Don't you love how Jackie just backs out of that gif like the mic-dropping bamf she is? Congresswoman Sharp was a welcome addition to the show's second season. A war veteran, Jackie is a politician who knows what she wants and makes no apologies for her ruthlessness... or her gender. Through Jackie, HoC tackled the sensitive issue of rape in the military, a storyline that was one of the highlights of the season. And she also took part in one of the most important sex scenes in television history. We love Claire and all, but Jackie proves that two complex female characters are better than one. (And a whole cast of them is better than two, obvi.)
Janine Skorsky
The reporter's acid-tongued witticisms were one of the highlights of Season 1 and we hate to think that the meek, scared woman she became in Season 2 is the last we'll ever see of her. Sure, knowing your colleague was murdered by the most powerful man in the world would intimidate just about anyone, but we need to see her come back out of hiding and help bring Frank down once and for all. Watching Janine and Zoe evolve from bitter enemies to reluctant partners-in-crime was a great arc in the first season. Now we're hoping for another arc that will bring Janine back to her feisty roots.
Freddy Hayes
The owner of Frank's favorite BBQ joint was one of the amoral politician's only true friends, and watching him be brought down as part of a scheme against Frank was heartbreaking. But what was even worse was seeing how it drove a wedge between the two men, as Frank was forced to distance himself from Freddy to save himself. We don't want this to be the end of Freddy's story. Maybe Frank doesn't deserve a friend at this point, but we can't imagine the show without his lunch breaks Freddy's BBQ.
Cashew
I'm sure that guinea pig actors Oscar, Lucas, and Encore are in high demand after their acclaimed onscreen debut in HoC's second season. But hopefully they'll be able to return for Season 3, as we can't imagine the show without Cashew, the adorable pet of hacker Gavin Orsay. The long-haired guinea pig survived the threat of death-by-squishing, so the door is wide open for a triumphant return. Perhaps an important subplot next season will revolve around Cashew's dogged pursuit of vengeance against the foot that squished him.
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