The hit political drama "House of Cards" has suspended production of its sixth season in light of recent sexual assault allegations levied against the show's star, Kevin Spacey.
"MRC [Media Rights Capital] and Netflix have decided to suspend production on 'House of Cards' season six, until further notice, to give us time to review the current situation and to address any concerns of our cast and crew," the companies said in a statement, Variety reported Tuesday.
The statement came one day after Netflix announced that the sixth season of the hit show would be its last. Netflix and show producers MRC said they were "deeply troubled" by the allegations against Spacey, an Academy Award-winning actor.
The sudden halt in production came after Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey in a BuzzFeed article published Sunday of making unwanted sexual advances towards him when he was 14 and Spacey was 26. Spacey responded to Rapp's accusation by offering him his "sincerest apology" in a statement over social media.
"I have a lot of respect and admiration for Anthony rapp as an actor. I'm beyond horrified to hear this story. I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago," Spacey said. "But if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years."
Spacey went on to say that the story encouraged him to address "other things" about his life, including his decision to "live as a gay man" after previously engaging in relationships with both women and men.
"House of Cards" is often credited with putting Netflix on the "original programming" map when it first premiered in 2013. The political drama series has been nominated for 53 Primetime Emmy Awards—including five nominations for outstanding drama series, Variety noted.