Season 5 of House of Cards is back on Netflix
Netflix fans have been left blindsided as they’ve finally worked out where the famous ‘tudum’ loading sound comes from.
The streaming giant introduced the noise in 2015 when its logo appears on screen, before allowing users to select an account and view the TV and films on offer.
It appears that the noise comes from a very controversial programme – and the first of its kind to be produced by Netflix studios. That show was 2013 political thriller House of Cards, starring Kevin Spacey.
The finale of the second series, airing in 2014, used the ‘tudum’ sound a year before it was introduced as the Netflix introductory sound. In one scene, Frank Underwood (Spacey) was seen hitting his desk twice with his right fist – and the sound was repeated as the credits rolled.
But the move to introduce the sound in 2015 proved controversial when House of Cards was axed due to Kevin Spacey being hit with allegations of sexual misconduct. He was acquitted of all charges after a 2023 trial after being charged in the UK with nine sexual offences against four men between 2001 and 2013.
Spacey told GB News presenter Dan Wootton at the time: “I take full responsibility for my past behaviour and my actions but I cannot and will not take responsibility or apologise to anyone who has made up stuff about me or exaggerated stories about me."
Regardless of his position within Netflix, the tudum sound was kept – and fans are gobsmacked after learning the truth behind it.
One tweeted: “It’s so funny that Netflix now claims a different, brand safe origin for their ‘tudum’ sound to distance themselves from Kevin Spacey/House of Cards despite it clearly being a slightly modified version of how season two ends.”
Someone else posted: “I was not familiar with this lore,” while another fan echoed: “New favourite fun fact just dropped.”
Netflix’s official stance is that Vice President of Product Todd Yellin teamed up with sound editor Lon Bender to create the tune. Yellin said: “I liked the sound of a goat. It was funny. It was the original. It was our version of Leo the Lion [from MGM].”
But his 10-year-old daughter instead wanted to use the sound of a wedding ring knocking against a piece of furniture, which was mixed with a deeper anvil noise, drum beats and reversed guitar chords.
According to Spacey, fans are the correct ones, as he said in 2023: “You know what that is? Boom, boom. According to your research, my influence is felt every time every customer opens the app.”
