House Ends In May With The Conclusion Of Its Eighth Season - Official Statement

[Brendon Connelly]

Fox have announced the end of their tremendously successful "Sherlock Holmes in a hospital" drama, House MD.

Mrs. C and myself just finished watching the Blu-rays of season seven over the weekend, and despite a few missteps here and there, thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. Indeed, we could say much the same for the first six seasons, and we're looking forward to gorging on the eighth, and now final, run when the discs are published in the Autumn.

But I acknowledge a lot of the popular criticisms of the show. Yes, it was occasionally very formulaic, and yes, it often felt super soapy. But it was also very funny, dramatised a humanist a worldview I could largely relate to, and some of its plot twists were amazingly sly.

And, while not wanting to overlook the rest of the cast, from Jennifer Morrison to Amber Tamblyn, Peter Jacobson to Robert Sean Leonard, I have to say that Hugh Laurie consistently delivered a performance so knock-out brilliant that I can hardly divorce him from the character, and the guy I watched on British TV for half of my life, making funny and being silly, seems like somebody entirely different.

Here's the goodbye sign-off from producers David Shore and Katie Jacobs, co-signed by Laurie.

After much deliberation, the producers of House M.D. have decided that this season of the show, the 8th, should be the last. By April this year they will have completed 177 episodes, which is about 175 more than anyone expected back in 2004.

The decision to end the show now, or ever, is a painful one, as it risks putting asunder hundreds of close friendships that have developed over the last eight years ? but also because the show itself has been a source of great pride to everyone involved.

Since it began, House has aspired to offer a coherent and satisfying world in which everlasting human questions of ethics and emotion, logic and truth, could be examined, played out, and occasionally answered. This sounds like fancy talk, but it really isn?t. House has, in its time, intrigued audiences around the world in vast numbers, and has shown that there is a strong appetite for television drama that relies on more than prettiness or gun play.

But now that time is drawing to a close. The producers have always imagined House as an enigmatic creature; he should never be the last one to leave the party. How much better to disappear before the music stops, while there is still some promise and mystique in the air.

The producers can never sufficiently express their gratitude to the hundreds of dedicated artists and technicians who have given so generously of their energy and talent to make House the show it has been ? and perhaps will continue to be for some time, on one cable network or another.

The makers of House would also like to thank Fox Broadcasting and Universal Television for supporting the show with patience, imagination and large quantities of good taste. The Studio-As-Evil-Adversary is one of the many clich?s that House has managed to avoid, and for that the cast and crew are deeply grateful.

Lastly, the audience: some have come and some have gone, obviously. This is to be expected in the life of any show. But over the course of the last eight years, the producers of House have felt immensely honored to be the subject of such close attention by an intelligent, discriminating, humane and thoughtful ? not to mention numerous ? audience. Even the show?s detractors have been flattering in their way. Making the show has felt like a lively and passionate discussion about as many different subjects as could possibly be raised in 177 hours. The devotion and generosity of our viewers has been marvelous to behold.

So, finally, everyone at House will bid farewell to the audience and to each other with more than a few tears, but also with a deep feeling of gratitude for the grand adventure they have been privileged to enjoy for the last eight years. If the show lives on somewhere, with somebody, as a fond memory, then that is a precious feat, of which we will always be proud.

Everybody Lies.

Now to look forward to their big finish. I'm sure they'll have something special up their sleeve.

And then to what Shore and team come up with next...

[Knut Robert Knutsen]

Well, I know I'm hoping for a last-moment guest appearance by Stephen Fry. Fry and Laurie always play so magnificently off eachother, and it would be interesting to see what Fry would do opposite Laurie's "House" persona.

[Enigma_2099]

Well, I know I'm hoping for a last-moment guest appearance by Stephen Fry. Fry and Laurie always play so magnificently off eachother, and it would be interesting to see what Fry would do opposite Laurie's "House" persona.

Good GOD what a way to end it....

[ahlhelm]

Good GOD what a way to end it....

It really would be. Fry should totally be the last patient.

[Birmy]

Does "deciding to end it" mean "Laurie didn't want to continue/we didn't want to pay more for his contract"?

[ahlhelm]

Does "deciding to end it" mean "Laurie didn't want to continue/we didn't want to pay more for his contract"?

Quite possibly considering the show still gets good ratings. It is fading though this season ratings wise, so probably best to go out before they risk a nosedive that might effect DVD sales.

[Jason A. Quest]

Does "deciding to end it" mean "Laurie didn't want to continue/we didn't want to pay more for his contract"?

If Fox announces a new medical drama featuring Taub, Park, and Adams, working together at a different hospital, titled AfterHouse, we'll have confirmation.

Yeah, the decision is probably driven by Laurie wanting to move on. (After all, they've demonstrated that every other character is replaceable.) But that's still a creative decision by one of the key creators of the series, and when that leads to the opportunity to produce a proper ending to a series, instead of ending things up in the air or down in the toilet, that's always a good thing.

[Knut Robert Knutsen]

House has a lot of great actors and as much as I liked the show, it has had long stretches where it has seemed a grind. At this point I'm more interested in seeing what these actors will do next. Which ones will show up on the next season of Grey's Anatomy or Private Practice, which will find brand new shows to star in etc. I mean, come on, who doesn't want to see Taub show up on Grey's Anatomy and start competing with Mark Sloane as a nurse-chasing plastic surgeon? Imagine the look on McSteamy's face as he goes "WTF, how does this guy have more game than me?"

As for Hugh Laurie, I want to see him do comedy again. It's been a long dry spell.

[dave_worrell]

Up through December and January, the sites that cover renewels and cancellations were reporting that FOX had yet to decide about the status of House. It was very much in doubt whether it would be renewed. I think David Shore was even quoted as hoping the decision would be made soon so that if this were the last season they'd have time to give it a real ending.

I expect FOX laid out the financial and other constraints they'd need to renew and Laurie/Shore/Jacob/whoever decided they'd just let it go as is.

[Enigma_2099]

Does "deciding to end it" mean "Laurie didn't want to continue/we didn't want to pay more for his contract"?

Look, I love James Hugh Calum Laurie(I hope I got that right), but seriously... how many seasons of milking the same patient diagnosis plot do you want?