The House of Cards season 4 release date is official: There’s going to be another season and it will air in 2016. That’s hardly surprising; the show remains a hit, and Spacey and Wright are both still pretty into it. But that’s not what I’m worried about. House of Cards season 3 was a big disappointment compared to the first two seasons, at least in my eyes. Can House of Cards season 4 recover from the third season’s missteps? Or are the show’s best days behind it?

House of Cards Season 4 Release Date: The End Of The Sophomore Slump?

House of Cards season 4 was announced at the beginning of April, and it only makes sense: While House of Cards season 2 ended on a somewhat conclusive note, with Frank Underwood becoming president, the third season marches out far more ambiguously. Like season 1, season 3 feels like the first half of a two-part story. House of Cards season 4 will finish it, presumably with the 2016 presidential election, which Frank will have to manage without Claire at his side. And he’ll have to watch his back.

House of Cards season 3 is by no means terrible, but I don’t think it’s as good as the first two seasons. It’s no longer a show about intrigue and shadowy manipulation, which has been relegated to the sidelines. It’s a show about politics and a presidential election. And somehow it manages to feel smaller. Sure, it’s trying to be more personal, especially in the back half, which is laser-focused on Frank and Claire. But I don’t think it really works. This isn’t The West Wing. We need some damn scandals up in here, and not political ones—ones involving reporters getting thrown in front of subway cars to cover up the truth. That’s way more fun of a show.

I have hope for House of Cards season 4. After all, season 3 suffers from second album syndrome. The first two seasons were planned from the start; the third was a follow-up act after the great success of those first two. I don’t want to say it was cobbled together; it obviously wasn’t. But the time pressures and the creative pressures were higher (and the production delay certainly didn’t help).

House of Cards season 4 has a chance to recover from that—if there’s a plan. But, while I have hope, I do fear that the show stands on the edge of a knife. That it will turn more and more into a political and personal show about Frank, and less of a show about a murderous politician. And, while I love Kevin Spacey as much as anyone, we don’t watch this show to see him govern. We watch it for the schemes.