This past weekend saw the release of "House of Cards", an original series from Netflix and Kevin Spacey's Triggerstreet Productions. In order to recoup the estimated $100M production, Netflix needs to add over 500K new subscribers. While the immediate goal is fairly easy to meet (they have 30M subscribers today), there's a bigger battle to consider--Netflix vs. HBO. The latter has the content to crush Netflix, but to really move into online (I'm sorry, but requiring a cable account doesn't cut it), HBO would have to bite the content companies that feed it--rather unlikely, especially in the short term.
For now, 13 episodes of House of Cards are available--posted simultaneously by Netflix in a bold move. We watched the first two, and this is not the cheery world of The West Wing--it's amoral and dark. If that's not your bag, you may want to steer clear. Spacey gives a great performance as an ambitious congressman, if possibly a bit too Tennessee Williams-esque for me. When he wants to present his thoughts, he turns to the camera and just speaks up--a gimmick, but it works. His supporting cast, especially Robin Wright as his wife, do a great job as well.
If you have Netflix, check it out. If not, this may be a good reason to sign up.