Producer: ‘House of Cards’ reveals a bad journalist 'wants access and influence'

Beau Willimon, producer of the new show "House of Cards" on Netflix, said Monday night on "The Young Turks" that the show is not about the relationship between the media and politicians: it's actually about the nature of power itself.

The show was released all-at-once, the first big budget television series to do so. Willimon said they made that decision because people were already "binge watching" television shows on DVRs and DVDs, so they might as well do the same thing on Netflix.

"Young Turks" co-host challenged Willimon on the show's journalist character, Zoe Barnes, played by actress Kate Mara. "Journalism has come under fire because of your show because it sort-of cheapens the role of the journalist," he said. "The idea is that [the reporter and a Congressman] are sleeping together, and because of the fact that they're sleeping together, that's the leak that she's able to get through [Congressman] Frank Underwood [played by actor Kevin Spacey]. How do you address that? How do you talk about that?"

Willimon responded by saying that Barnes is not a good journalist, she's actually a bad one. "What she is, is a climber," he said. "She's someone who wants access and influence and she goes about it in any number of ways."

"We're telling a story about power, about ambition, and in her case, youthful ambition," he added. "People will do a lot of nefarious things to make their way up the ladder."

While the exact ratings for "House of Cards" aren't public just yet, Netflix says it is the most watched content on the company's streaming service. The first episode is available for free online without a subscription.

This video is from "The Young Turks," aired Monday, Feb. 25, 2013.