Although the first season of House of Cards left its scheming South Carolina congressman Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) and his historical legacy in a precarious situation, the show itself just secured its historical importance with nine Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Drama series, the first time a show released solely on the internet has ever received such recognition.
The Netflix program, much of which was filmed in Baltimore, recognized the “binge-viewing” habits of fans of serial dramas, and released all of the episodes simultaneously, probably causing a great dip in the city’s productivity levels the weekend after it was released as Baltimore indulged in the simultaneous pleasures of watching Frank’s evil scheming and spotting local locales, such as Dionysus and the Center Street entrance of Peabody. It is up against such pay-TV faves as Game of Thrones, Mad Men, Homeland, Breaking Bad, and Downton Abbey.
Kevin Spacey was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama for his portrayal of the MacBeth-like Underwood. And for her subtle and conflicted portrayal of Underwood’s wife, Claire, Robin Wright was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
The nominations are a great recognition of the resurgence of the film industry in Baltimore, and, despite the occasional nuisance of film crews, we’ve been delighted that there is almost as much shooting of film as there is shooting of bullets in town these days.