10 Exact Moments That Killed TV Shows
6. Frank Underwood's Hasty Death - House Of Cards
Production on House of Cards' sixth season was thrown into disarray when sexual abuse allegations were levelled against star Kevin Spacey.
The decision was ultimately made to kill off his protagonist, President Frank Underwood, and shift the show's perspective to follow his wife and now-President, Claire Underwood (Robin Wright).
Robin Wright had been a tenacious presence in the show's first five seasons and proved quite capable of carrying season six without Spacey, but she was gravely let down by painfully sloppy writing throughout.
For starters, rather than bury Frank and move on as quickly as possible, the entire sixth season lingers on Frank's demise, causing the spectre of Spacey's disgraced exit to linger for the entirety.
The season over-indulged in melodramatic twists and turns - something House of Cards became increasingly infamous for - ahead of a deeply terrible series finale.
In the final scene, Claire murders fan favourite character Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) after he reveals that he killed Frank to stop him destroying his own Presidential legacy. Right.
It was a most depressing and undignified end for a show that, in its first few years, paved the way for Netflix's prestige Originals line-up.