Set at the fictional Princeton–Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey, where a team of medical specialists attempts to diagnose patients with baffling, seemingly untreatable conditions, House starts off as both a Sherlock Holmes riff and the ultimate “Irascible Genius” show.
That’s all fun, especially the Holmes stuff, but as the series goes on, it shifts into a discussion of mortality, the joys and horrors of medical life, and the burden of intelligence.
Due to a misdiagnosed infarction in his leg years ago, House lives with chronic, severe physical pain, causing him to walk with a cane and maintain a severe addiction to Vicodin (an opioid pain medicine).
House despises dealing directly with patients, famously operating under the personal mantra that “everybody lies”.
He views patients as puzzles to solve rather than people to comfort, regularly flouting hospital rules, ethics, and social boundaries.
British actor Hugh Laurie delivers staggering work as the misanthropic, abrasive, and deeply cynical medical genius Dr Gregory House, matched beat for beat by one of the best casts in television history.
The Head of Oncology, Dr James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard), is House’s only genuine friend. He acts as House’s moral compass and primary sounding board.
Dr Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) is the Dean of Medicine and hospital administrator, constantly caught between defending House’s diagnostic brilliance and managing his extreme insubordination.
House relies on a rotating panel of young fellows whom he berates, manipulates, and uses to bounce his ideas off. The initial team comprises Dr Eric Foreman (Omar Epps), Dr Robert Chase (Jesse Spencer), and Dr Allison Cameron (Jennifer Morrison).
Later seasons introduce new team members, including Dr Remy “Thirteen” Hadley (Olivia Wilde) and Dr Chris Taub (Peter Jacobson).
The show aired on Fox for eight seasons from 16 November 2004 to 21 May 2012. During that time, it won five Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes for Hugh Laurie, and a Peabody Award.
Dr Gregory House
Hugh Laurie Dr James Wilson
Robert Sean Leonard Dr Eric Foreman
Omar Epps Dr Robert Chase
Jesse Spencer Dr Lisa Cuddy
Lisa Edelstein Dr Allison Cameron
Jennifer Morrison Dr Chris Taub
Peter Jacobson Dr Remy “Thirteen” Hadley
Olivia Wilde Nurse
Bobbin Bergstrom
House despises dealing directly with patients, famously operating under the personal mantra that “everybody lies”.
