House of Cards season 3: New trailer shows Frank and Claire's relationship under strain

The First Lady begins to wonder why she has invested so much in her husband's scheming plans

Kevin Spacey as a ruthless Frank Underwood in 'House of Cards' (David Giesbrecht)

Netflix has unveiled a new trailer for series three of House of Cards, which premieres this week on the streaming service.

The 30-second clip, which aired during the Oscar 2015 broadcast in the US, has an eerie tone and foreshadows the breakdown of Frank and Claire Underwood’s relationship.

Set to “Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of War Drums” by the band A Perfect Circle, the trailer shows the widening gulf between the First Couple as they begin questioning their rise to power while campaigning for the 2016 election.

The pair is shown visiting troops abroad and posing for an official photo shoot—where Claire recoils from Frank’s touch and the cameraman asks the First Lady for “a little more of a smile, please."

In a voiceover, Claire (Robin Wright) is baffled by her scheming husband’s plans: “I'm starting to question all of it, Francis. What are we doing this for?”

Frank (Kevin Spacey) replies: “For this house. For the presidency.”

The trailer ends with Frank’s signature shot of breaking of the fourth wall and asking the audience: “What are you looking at?”

The shady world of DC politics that is House Of Cards returns to Netflix on Friday 27 February.

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