House, also known as House, M.D., is an American medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show was created by David Shore and executive produced by Shore and film director Bryan Singer. The show revolves around Dr. Gregory House (British actor Hugh Laurie), a cynical medical genius, who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital (PPTH).
The show’s premise was created by Shore, who got the idea for the curmudgeonly title character from a visit to a teaching hospital. Initially, producer Bryan Singer wanted an American to play House, but British actor Hugh Laurie’s audition convinced him that a foreign actor could play the role. Shore wrote House as a character with parallels to Sherlock Holmes — both are drug users, aloof, and largely friendless. The show’s producers wanted House disabled in some way, and gave the character a damaged leg arising from an improper diagnosis.
Dr. House often clashes with his boss, hospital administrator and Dean of Medicine, Dr. Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein), because his theories about a patient’s illness tend to be based on subtle or controversial insights. House’s only true friend is Dr. James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard), head of the Department of Oncology. House’s original diagnostic team consisted of Dr. Robert Chase (Jesse Spencer), Dr. Allison Cameron (Jennifer Morrison), and Dr. Eric Foreman (Omar Epps). In the fourth season, this team is disbanded and House gradually wittles down a field of forty applicants to a new team consisting of Dr. Remy “Thirteen” Hadley (Olivia Wilde), Dr. Chris Taub (Peter Jacobson), and Dr. Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn). The original doctors still recur throughout the series, with Foreman featured most prominently out of that three.
House has received much critical acclaim and gained high ratings ever since its premiere. During the 2007–08 United States television season, the series was the most-watched scripted program on TV and the third-most-watched program overall, behind American Idol and Dancing with the Stars.[1] The show has also received various awards and nominations, including a Peabody Award, two Golden Globe Awards and three Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2008, Shore announced that a spin-off, centering around a character introduced in House’s fifth season will be created. As of 2009, House is in its fifth season. |
