It would’ve been cheaper for Netflix to cancel House of Cards, so why proceed with Season 6?

Vulture

The shortened, Kevin Spacey-less Season 6 is going to be costly, especially thanks to the production delays, with total costs expected to exceed $50 million. According to Josef Adalian, Netflix did seriously considering walking away in the wake of the Spacey allegations. But fans lobbying via social media might have convinced Netflix executives that it would be better to end their groundbreaking series on a positive note.