[Christien]

IMO, House of Cards is the hallmark of this new "golden era" of TV everyone's talking about. It's probably the best TV watching I've ever seen. Well scripted, impeccably acted, characters with depth and really unsuspecting plot turns, coupled with the freedom to kill off main characters.

"we wanted to tell a story that would take a long time to tell. We were creating a sophisticated, multi-layered story with complex characters who would reveal themselves over time, and relationships that would need space to play out".

That right there is what makes these new kinds of shows so good. No longer do they have no pre-determined ending in sight, which necessitates each episode ending with everything back at square one. Main characters can die, they can take new jobs, move to different cities, change their core beliefs, whatever - things can evolve, like they do in the real world.