<Tr> <Th> </Th> <Td> 5 </Td> <Td> 70% (33 reviews) </Td> <Td> 60 (11 reviews) </Td> </Tr> <P> The first season received positive reviews from critics . On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a rating of 85%, based on 39 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2 / 10 . The site's consensus reads, "Bolstered by strong performances--especially from Kevin Spacey--and surehanded direction, House of Cards is a slick, engrossing drama that may redefine how television is produced ." On Metacritic, the first season has a score of 76 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". </P> <P> USA Today critic Robert Bianco praised the series, particularly Spacey's and Wright's lead performances, stating "If you think network executives are nervous, imagine the actors who have to go up against that pair in the Emmys ." Tom Gilatto of People Weekly lauded the first two episodes, calling them "cinematically rich, full of sleek, oily pools of darkness ." In The Denver Post, critic Joanne Ostrow said the series is "Deeply cynical about human beings as well as politics and almost gleeful in its portrayal of limitless ambition ." She added: "House of Cards is a wonderfully sour take on power and corruption ." </P> <P> Writing in The New York Times, critic Alessandra Stanley noted that the writing in the series sometimes fails to match the high quality of its acting: "Unfortunately Mr. Spacey's lines don't always live up to the subtle power of his performance; the writing isn't Shakespeare, or even Aaron Sorkin, and at times, it turns strangely trite ." Nevertheless, she lauded House of Cards as an entertainment that "revels in the familiar but always entertaining underbelly of government ." Andrew Davies, the writer of the original UK TV series, stated that Spacey's character lacks the "charm" of Ian Richardson's, while The Independent praised Spacey's portrayal as a more "menacing" character, "hiding his rage behind Southern charm and old - fashioned courtesy ." Randy Shaw, writing for The Huffington Post, criticized House of Cards for glorifying "union bashing and entitlement slashing within a political landscape whose absence of activist groups or anyone remotely progressive resembles a Republican fantasy world". Critics such as Time television critic James Poniewozik and Hank Stuever of The Washington Post compare the series to Boss . Like the UK show and novel of the same name many critics have noted that it is heavily influenced by both Macbeth and Richard III, In addition, some critics find elements of Othello, such as Iago's bitter ire . </P>

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