Like countless Americans, I recently watched the entire second season of hit political drama House of Cards in one weekend after U.S. video streaming site Netflix released all 13 nearly hour-long episodes. 

But the website I logged on was Sohu -- one of the China's biggest online video services -- that purchased exclusive rights to the series for mainland China, and posted the latest season at the same time as Netflix. 

Glued to my laptop, I couldn't help but notice the major role China plays this season as one riveting plot unfolds after another. 

Case in point: The Blacklist, a new American crime drama, is widely available on Chinese video sites -- except Episode 3. That episode has been removed by all streaming services -- including Sohu -- because it features a Chinese spy who kills CIA operatives as its main villain, and critiques China's controversial one-child family planning policy. 

The China subplots in House of Cards, Season 2 don't exactly portray the country all that positively, but the government appears to be leaving Sohu alone. 

"We didn't know the second season would have so much to do with China -- probably because of the increasing importance of China in global affairs," Charles Zhang, Sohu's chief executive, told me at a press conference Tuesday. "Many Chinese people -- including officials -- are watching it now and we have had no problem." 

"So (the American shows on your site) are not subject to censorship?" I asked. 

"So far, no," he replied. 

For now, Sohu is focusing on broadening the appeal of House of Cards, scrambling to add Chinese subtitles and bombarding visitors to its website with banner ads. 

Sohu users have clearly noticed. 

The series' latest and original seasons now occupy the top two spots in Sohu's chart of mostwatched American TV shows. Season 2 has been clocking almost three million views a day -- impressive for a complex story that requires a deep understanding of U.S. politics. 

In comments left online, many Chinese viewers indicated they are drawn to the show for the same reasons as fans elsewhere: gripping plot twists, superb acting and stark parallel to reality. 

"If you have to see the show as social commentary, I think it's a strong diatribe against the political system in the U.S. rather than against China," said Raymond Zhou, a well-known columnist for China Daily. "The narrative doesn't fault China but rather just one individual from China."