Kevin Spacey is set to return to television for the first time since his 2017 dismissal from Netflix’s House of Cards, marking a notable — and controversial, chapter in the actor’s ongoing attempt to rebuild his career. Spacey will star in Minimarket, a low-budget Italian comedy series produced for Italy’s public broadcaster RAI.
The 10-episode series is scheduled to debut Dec. 26 on RAI’s RaiPlay streaming platform. It represents Spacey’s first small-screen role in nearly a decade and his most prominent television project since allegations of sexual misconduct led to his abrupt exit from House of Cards.
In Minimarket, the two-time Academy Award winner plays a fictionalized version of himself. According to the show’s synopsis, Spacey appears as the imaginary mentor and “artistic conscience” of Manlio Viganò, a young man working at a Rome convenience store who dreams of becoming a television star. The aspiring performer is played by Italian actor Filippo Laganà.
Promotional footage shows Spacey and Laganà singing Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” and Frank Sinatra’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” underscoring the show’s self-aware, comedic tone. The relationship between the two characters is described as being driven by bickering, misunderstandings and playful teasing, contrasting the experience of a global movie star with the recklessness of someone who fails to realize he is being guided by an Oscar winner.
Spacey’s return to television comes amid continued legal and personal challenges. In 2023, he was acquitted in a U.K. criminal trial involving sexual assault charges brought by four men. However, he is still facing three additional sexual assault claims in a London civil court, which are expected to be heard next year. According to BBC News, Spacey has formally denied two of the civil claims and has yet to file a defense in the third.
In recent interviews, Spacey has spoken candidly about the toll the allegations and subsequent career fallout have taken on his life. Last month, he told The Telegraph that he is effectively homeless, moving between hotels and short-term rentals as he follows work opportunities abroad. He described the financial strain of the past seven years as “astronomical,” saying his expenses have far outweighed his income.
Italy has played a key role in Spacey’s gradual reentry into acting. In 2021, he appeared in Franco Nero’s independent drama The Man Who Drew God, marking his first acting role after years away from the screen. He later portrayed a character known as “The Devil” in Italian director Massimo Paolucci’s psychological thriller The Contract.
More recently, Spacey returned briefly to U.S. theaters with the indie thriller Peter Five Eight, which largely flew under the radar. He has also appeared in the unreleased British action-thriller The Awakening and directed the supernatural action film Holiguards, which he promoted earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival.
RAI has not publicly addressed the controversy surrounding Spacey’s casting, but Minimarket positions itself as a light, self-referential comedy rather than a prestige drama. Whether audiences will embrace Spacey’s television comeback remains uncertain, particularly as legal proceedings continue.
