'House of Cards' Season 5 Hires Melissa James Gibson & Frank Pugliese As Netflx's Showrunners

Weeks after the announcement that Beau Willimont, who created House of Cards, would be stepping down as showrunner of the iconic White House drama, Netflix has gotten two new people to give shape to Frank Underwood's evil schemes. The show's executive story editor Melissa James Gibson and Borgia writer Frank Pugliese will be taking Willimon's job on season 5.

According to Deadline, both Gibson and Pugliese have been part of HoC's crew since 2014, and now their joint efforts have seen them promoted as showrunnrs, to continue the story of Kevin Spacey's disturbingly Machiavellic and fascinating character.

"I welcome Frank and Melissa in their new roles on House of Cards and look forward to collaborating with them and our creative team on season five," said Spacey, who also serves as executive producer to the critically acclaimed show, when the announcement was made.

Both Pugliese and Gibson come from theater backgrounds, as the two have worked as playwrights for many years. Pugliese's plays include The King of Connecticut, The Alarm and the Obie Award-winning Aven'U Boys; meanwhile, Gibson, also an Obie Award winner, has written plays like Brooklyn Bridge and Placebo.

Variety reports that their past TV works include how Gibson was part of the crew of the critically acclaimed FX show The Americans, while Pugliese was behind the scenes for Law & Order.

House of Cards was renewed for a fifth season months before the fourth one aired on Netflix, and at the time, Willimont announced he'd be stepping down as showrunner, a role he'd had since the very inception of the series. The following season, set to air at some point in 2017 (traditionally around March), will be the first one ever without Willimont involved.

House of Cards will return to the small screen this Friday March 4, while its entire season 4 will be available for streaming.