Los Gatos, California-based Netflix is reportedly making efforts to acquire the distribution rights of forthcoming television series “House of Cards.”

People familiar with the matter claimed that the popular DVD & online movie-rental service Netflix is pursuing talks with the 26-episode series political drama’s starring Kelvin Spacey and director David Fincher for gaining the exclusive rights.

Under the terms of the potential deal, Media Rights Capital, which currently owns the political show, will keep hold of DVD rights and the right to syndicate the show for television following the expiry of Netflix’s exclusive period.

However, Media Rights Capital spokeswoman Susan Arons declined to comment on the matter.

In case the potential deal comes to fruition, it will be Netflix’s first original television series and a blow to premium cable television channels such as Time Warner Inc. and HBO and CBS Corp. Original series such as “The Wire” and “True Blood” have played a vital role in the growth of HBO over the past years.

According to research firm SNL Kagan, Netflix had around 20 million subscribers at the end of last year.