Written by on Feb 6, 2014. Posted in On Location

House of Cards to return for third season filming on location in Maryland

Hit drama series House of Cards will return for a third season and will continue filming on location in Maryland. The high-end political drama doubles Baltimore for Washington, DC, and made history in 2013 for becoming the first series to be made available exclusively online via Netflix.

House of Cards follows Kevin Spacey's unscrupulous politician Francis Underwood, who will stop at nothing to seize power at the height of government in Washington. Spacey is also an executive producer on the series.

“I’m very happy to be [coming back to Baltimore],” Spacey told the Baltimore Sun: “I’ve been loving being in Baltimore and having such a really nice time there. The crew, they’ve become our family. You come to work in the morning and you’re surrounded by a group of people who probably got there before you did and will be there long after you’ve left.”

Maryland’s state filming incentive is worth up to 27% of eligible local spending for TV series. The programme’s fund was more than tripled to USD25 million for the 2013/14 financial year, but is then set to return to its previous USD7.5 million figure. The base incentive has been a major contributing factor in drawing House of Cards away from Washington, and has also drawn Armando Iannucci’s political satire Veep, which has filmed multiple seasons doubling Baltimore for the US capital.

Both shows have made an impact in Baltimore. House of Cards specifically has hired more than 2,100 local crew, cast and extras, and has used the services of over 1,800 businesses.

“I think the more that other states follow the example of Maryland, they’ll see that you can bring an economy to your city. And it employs thousands and thousands of people. And we are enormously delighted to have our home in Baltimore,” Spacey added in his interview.

Said Maryland Film Office Director Jack Gerbes in comments to The Location Guide: “Hosting a critically-acclaimed, groundbreaking series with high-profile and talented filmmakers like House of Cards has also put a very positive spotlight and attention on Maryland, our crews and our production industry as a whole to the general public, as well as to industry professionals and industry decision makers worldwide.”

Netflix has had a seismic impact on consumer viewing habits and played a significant role in massively expanding the global fan base for lauded crime drama Breaking Bad during the show's latter seasons. The company recently announced a deal with The Weinstein Company to produce an ambitious miniseries inspired by the life of 13th Century traveller Marco Polo. Filming will be based at Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios.