"House of Cards" and the state of Maryland reached a deal late Friday that will keep the Netflix series in state to film Season 3.
"Spoiler alert: 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," Gov. Martin O'Malley said in a statement. "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 statement went on to say:
"The Maryland General Assembly first passed the Film Production Tax Credit in 2011, providing $26 million in tax credits in the show's first two seasons. With the growth of the production, House of Cards will receive a total of $11.5 million in 2014, through a combination of both the 2014 Film Production Tax Credit program and a General Assembly authorization of $7.5 million in grants in the FY15 budget. Governor O'Malley led negotiations with MRC to finalize the agreement, which provides less than the production qualified for, but enough to keep the hit franchise in Maryland."
"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," Asif Satchu, co-CEO of MRC said in the statement from O'Malley's office.
"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."
The statement says the "producers of the show expect to begin production on Season 3 over the next several months."
Actually, they will be in production within weeks.