House of Cards season 6 shutdown means the show is set to end with Claire Underwood on top

'My turn,' she said in the Oval Office at the end of season 5, as Frank was left redundant

If you were wondering how a final season of House of Cards would work when its lead actor is embroiled in such a vast furore, the answer is now almost certainly that it won't.

Netflix announced that filming on its sixth season has been shut down on Tuesday, bringing the number of remaining seasons down from one to zero.

"Production on the final season of House of Cards is suspended until further notice," Netflix tweeted.

"This will give us time to review the current situation with our producing partners at MRC.

"Execs are on set this week discussing with our cast and crew. More details to come."

It now seems highly unlikely that the season will be shunted back into production given the souring of feeling toward Kevin Spacey among fans and industry figures, effectively making season 5 its final season.

This may not be such a bad thing even for ardent fans of the show and/or those who disagree with the decision to axe new episodes.

House of Cards somewhat lost its way after Frank Underwood became president, lacking a feeling of direction or a sense that it was actually about anything.

It was starting to feel inevitable that Claire would come out on top when the show concluded, but she already has.

Season 5's final episode, 'Chapter 65', ended with Claire as president. The final scene:

'Frank, who has been watching the broadcast from his hotel room, angrily calls her to presumably demand an explanation, but Claire rejects the call, and stares towards the camera audience and coldly declares: "My turn."'

Some may argue that Frank not getting his comeuppance is a shame but, as we saw with Gerald Ford pardoning Richard Nixon, presidents tend to go down quietly rather than in flames.

Five seasons and out might be such a bad thing, then (irony that Claire won't actually get to have her "turn" aside), and it remains to be seen whether there is really a demand or justification for the planned spin-off series.