Written by on Apr 28, 2014. Posted in Incentive News

House of Cards filming incentive deal keeps the show on location in Maryland

Political drama House of Cards has made a deal to keep filming in Maryland for its third season, after weeks of uncertainty. Production company Media Rights Capital (MRC) had said they would consider filming elsewhere if local filming incentive support was not increased.

House of Cards has doubled Baltimore for Washington, DC, for two seasons but the producers had postponed filming on the third season over uncertainties about available filming incentive support for 2014.

Producers appealed directly to the Governor’s Office to boost incentives. Now it’s been confirmed that the Netflix drama will get incentive support of USD11.5 million for the new season through Maryland’s formal filming incentive programme and a grant from the state’s General Assembly.

“House of Cards is the gift that keeps on giving, having injected hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy, while also helping to provide thousands of jobs to our Maryland community,” said Asif Satchu, co-Chief Executive Officer of MRC.

“We are very grateful to both Governor O’Malley for his tireless efforts to help keep jobs in Maryland and the leadership of the General Assembly for their continued advocacy and support.”

Added Governor O’Malley: “We’re going to keep the 3,700 jobs and more than 100 million dollars of economic activity and investment that House of Cards generates right here in Maryland. Media Rights Capital has been a great supporter of the people and entertainment community in Maryland and we couldn’t be happier to continue our partnership.”

The Governor’s Office says the show’s new incentive package is “less than the production qualified for, but enough to keep the hit franchise in Maryland.”