House of Cards is an American political drama web television series created by Beau Willimon. It is an adaptation of the BBC's mini-series of the same name and is based on the novel by Michael Dobbs. The entire first season, comprising thirteen episodes, premiered on February 1, 2013, on the streaming service Netflix. A second season of thirteen episodes premiered on February 14, 2014, while a third season premiered on February 27, 2015. House of Cards was renewed for a fourth season that premiered on March 4, 2016. In January 2016, Netflix announced that the show had been renewed for a fifth season, due for release in 2017, and that Willimon would step down as showrunner after the fourth season. Willimon has stated that plans for the show's future are decided after each season.