Small Screen Spacey? David Fincher Gets Kevin Spacey to Star and Produce New TV Series 'House of Cards'

Even though neither collaboration resulted in the Academy Awards their respective studios were probably hoping for, David Fincher is bringing collaborators from his last two films along for his first TV series.

Eric Roth, who wrote "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," was already onboard as Executive Producer, and now, according to Variety, Kevin Spacey, who was himself Executive Producer on "The Social Network," is onboard to star in the show and do a little executive producing of his own.

The series is an adaptation of a British novel by Michael Dobbs, a former Chief of Staff at Conservative Party headquarters, which was itself adapted into a BBC mini-series in 1990. It was set in the final years of the Margaret Thatcher era, and follows a British politician who deceives and manipulates in his quest to be Prime Minister.

The Fincher version will naturally be set in the U.S., and looks to be an ongoing series. It has yet to be picked up by a network, but with Fincher producing and directing the pilot starring Kevin Spacey, I'm sure that won't take long.

Spacey's career as an actor over the last decade hasn't exactly delivered on the promise of his work in the 1990s, which included two Oscars and a slew of memorable performances in "The Usual Suspects," "Seven," "LA Confidential," and "American Beauty."

He's mostly starred in go-nowhere low budget films, with a role in "Superman Returns" and a passion project ("Beyond the Sea") thrown in for good measure. Lies and deceit are right up his alley, so this could be a fascinating third phase to his career.