SEASON PREMIERE: How can House of Cards carry on without its central character, Frank Underwood, due to the scandal-enforced absence of star and former executive producer Kevin Spacey? Watch and see. It shifts the focus, and the power, to Frank’s wife, Claire, played by Robin Wright. She’s up to the challenge, and ascends like Lady Macbeth finally given her moment. She even takes over the role of breaking-the-fourth-wall narrator, albeit unreliably. And the absence of Frank hangs over the plot, and the series, like a ghost, as well it should. But the unexpected surprise here is the co-starring role by Diane Lane, as an old friend and political wife who re-enters Claire’s orbit. Wright has the spotlight in this new season of House of Cards – but Lane steals it. For a full review, see Ed Bark's Uncle Barky's Bytes.