regardless of the data Netflix might be able to provide about its viewers, Willimon said working on House of Cards is all instinct for him since he doesn't have access to any of the stats, including the total number of people who watch the show. And even if he was able to view this data, it likely wouldn't have affected his writing -- Willimon said it is best to not focus "too much on causality."

But before the Underwoods could invade our living rooms, the video-streaming giant had to outbid networks such as HBO to acquire the rights to the TV drama. And Willimon, along with Director David Fincher and Executive Producer Kevin Spacey, couldn't be happier that this was the case. "On non-Netflix shows, you're only as good as your last week's ratings. Having a 26-episode deal helped the writing. We had the bliss of ignorance," said Willimon during the Tribeca Film Festival panel.