inewsamerica: House of Cards: Netflix Placed a Gravestone for Frank Underwood in a Real South Carolina Cemetery

Netflix is taking Frank Underwood’s death seriously. A little too seriously, actually. Now that House of Cards has come to an end, the streamer has set up a morbid publicity stunt to commemorate (celebrate?) the death of Frank Underwood.

The character was killed off in the sixth and final season of the show, after actor Kevin Spacey was fired from the series while facing allegations of sexual misconduct. (He apologized to one accuser, but has remained silent about the rest of the allegations.) Per The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix has set up a gravestone at Oakland Cemetery, a real cemetery in Gaffney, South Carolina, the character’s hometown. The streamer also set up a gravestone for Frank’s father, because, per the show, Frank hated his father and never wanted to be buried next to him. Frank’s wife, Claire Underwood (Robin Wright), reveals this key detail in the sixth season.

As fans of the show will note, the first episode in Season 3 features Frank visiting his father’s burial place, monologuing about what a terrible dad he was, then urinating on the gravestone.

Gaffney marketing director LeighAnn Snuggs was contacted by Netflix about the gravesite idea in August, she tells local outlet the Gaffney Ledger. And for anyone whose hackles are raised at the thought of a fairly reviled fictional character getting a gravestone in a cemetery where real people are buried (surely none of their families would be thrilled at getting looped into this narrative?), the Ledger notes that Snuggs “said she picked an out-of-the-way spot in the cemetery that wouldn’t disturb nearby plots.”

In addition, the marker will only be there for a limited time; it was placed last Friday and will remain through November 10, per T.H.R. The cemetery has since encouraged fans to send in pictures of themselves visiting the gravestone. Foot traffic has increased, the cemetery tells the outlet, but only a few photo submissions have been sent in.

That isn’t the only real-world touch Netflix took while bidding goodbye to both Frank and House of Cards. A real obituary for Underwood was placed in the Gaffney Ledger as well.

“Francis J. Underwood, the 46th president of the United States—a polarizing figure who resigned in March of 2017—died at the age of 58,” the obit began. “A graduate of The Sentinel and Harvard Law School, he will be remembered as a lifelong patriot who would stop at nothing to serve his country.”

The cause of Frank’s death is largely kept a mystery over the course of the final season, though it is ultimately revealed in the show’s last episode. (Click here for spoilers.) Per House of Cards show-runners Melissa James Gibson and Frank Pugliese, killing Frank wasn’t part of the plot until Spacey’s firing.

“It was in the cards—I just didn’t know if we were going to play that card,” Pugliese recently told Vanity Fair.

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