When Season 3 of Netflix's political thriller drama "House of Cards" returns on Friday, Feb. 27, viewers will get a behind-the-curtain look at husband-and-wife power couple Francis and Claire Underwood (played by Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright, respectively), who sabotaged, exploited and hoodwinked their way into the Oval Office as the newest president and first lady of the United States. Here's how to keep busy until then.

After checking out the new trailer, you are eagerly anticipating binge-watching the upcoming season upon inspecting the new trailer and need something to pass the time, Gizmodo recommends watching the original "House of Cards" series.

Based on the 1990 four-episode BBC drama set at the twilight years of Margaret Thatcher's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the show follows Francis Urquhart (played by Ian Richardson), a member of Parliament and the government chief whip in the House of Commons circa '80s London, as he tries climb the political ladder. Adapted by Andrew Davies from the novel of the same name by Michael Dobbs, a former politician, the show and its two sequels, 1993's "To Play the King" and 1995's "The Final Cut," are on Netflix and follow similar plot lines with ruthless pragmatism.

Or, if you'd like to bide your time catching up on parallel Machiavellian troupes with tons of betrayal, political intrigue and corporate corruption, check out the eight novels Bustle listed as the next best thing to "House of Cards."

Christopher Buckley's 1994 satirical comedy-drama novel "Thank You for Smoking" profiles the life and times of Nick Naylor, the charismatic chief spokesman and lobbyist for the Academy of Tobacco Studies who spins high profile accounts to promote "positive" repercussions of the cigarette industrywhile trying to remain a role model for his 12-year-old son.

"Thank You for Smoking" was later turned into a critically acclaimed film directed by Jason Reitman and starring Aaron Eckhart, Katie Holmes, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy and Robert Duvall in 2005.

One of the other books listed is William Shakespeare's "Richard III," a historical play following the clandestine aspirations for power of Richard III of York, a character that served as a partial basis for both Urquhart and Underwood. Seven months prior to starring in "House of Cards," Spacey had embarked on aworld tour production of "Richard III" in the title role to universal acclaim, according to The Independent.

Other novels recommended are "American Wife" by Curtis Sittenfeld; "The Last Thing He Wanted" by Joan Didion; "The Years of Lyndon Johnson" by Robert Caro; "A Brief History of Seven Killings" by Marlon James; "Bad Feminist" by Roxane Gay; and "All the King's Men" by Robert Penn Warren.

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