Well, with Cuddy gone and the rest of the crew barely signing up in time, this looks like it'll be the end.
But there will be two new additions to PPTH

Odette Annable Joins the Cast of House

Jul 25, 2011 10:18 PM ET


Odette Annable has joined the cast of House as a series regular for Season 8, TVGuide.com has confirmed.

Breaking In creator on Raising Season 2 hopes: Fox recognizes there is something there

Annable, 26, who co-starred on Fox's midseason comedy Breaking In, has signed on to play a prison doctor who House (Hugh Laurie) meets while behind bars, Deadline.com reports. The cranky doc will invite her character to join his team of colleagues at Princeton-Plainsboro — which is much smaller these days since Lisa Edelstein and Amber Tamblyn have left the show and Olivia Wilde is still splitting her time between shooting movies and filming the series.

As such, Annable will be the show's only female regular, opposite Laurie, Jesse Spencer, Omar Epps, Robert Sean Leonard and Peter Jacobson.

Fox cancels Human Target, Lie to Me and Chicago Code; picks up 4 new shows

So what does this mean for Breaking In's chances for renewal? Fox appeared to cancel the series, which also stars Christian Slater and Bret Harrison, in the network's season-end slaughter. According to Deadline, though, Annable's contract allows her time to shoot on Breaking should Fox renew it. Reps for the Fox series declined to comment on how Annable's role on House will affect Breaking In.

Annable also recently appeared on Brothers & Sisters' final season, as a love interest for Justin (Dave Annable, aka her husband).


'House' casts 'Knocked Up' co-star for season 8

by James Hibberd

Dr. House is paging a revitalized female cast for fall.

House producers just hired actress-comedian Charlyne Yi to join the show as a series regular. Yi will help repopulate the female cast of the Fox medical drama that’s seen departing names over the years, such as Lisa Edelstein and Amber Tamblyn, especially now that Olivia Wilde is part time.

Yi joins the team playing a young doctor on the show, coming on the heels of House hiring another new female full-timer, Breaking In co-star Odette Annable, who will play a prison doctor. Yi had a scene-stealing role in Knocked Up and recently was in NBC’s Love Bites. She’s repped by UTA, Christie Smith at Mosaic and Lev Ginsberg. Here’s Yi from a guest spot on Conan:

also

Spoiler: show

Hugh Laurie Confirms House's In-Jail State in Season 8

August 01, 2011
"House M.D." will be set in prison when the eighth season kicks off this fall on Monday, October 3, it has been confirmed by Hugh Laurie. The House depicter on the FOX medical drama series told reporters at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour in Beverly Hills, "I am a prisoner."

As for how long his alter ego will stay behind the bars, the English actor claimed he has no idea. "I don't know [how long I'll be there]. They keep me in the dark," he said. "It's probably better that way."

Also on the same occasion, Laurie talked briefly about Lisa Edelstein who quit "House" after the end of season 7. "We all miss Lisa very much," he shared.

House Season 8: Cuddy Fallout, New Blood, and a Return to the Show's Roots

Aug 14, 2011 08:57 PM ET
by Adam Bryant

TV writers know the drill: You paint characters into a corner in the season finale and spend the summer plotting how to get the characters out. If only it had been that simple for House creator David Shore this summer.

Besides resolving last year's cliff-hanger — which saw House (Hugh Laurie) drive his car into the living room of ex-girlfriend Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) before escaping to a tropical locale — Shore also had to deal with Edelstein's sudden decision against returning to the show.

"I didn't paint the corners this year," Shore tells TVGuide.com with a laugh that suggests he's looking on the bright side. "I have to say, I'm surprisingly excited. With the way things unfolded in the off-season, I thought, 'Oh crap; this is not what I wanted. But I'm very pleased with what [we] have worked out."

Part of the plan involves sending House to jail and jumping the story ahead by a year. Another includes bringing new blood into Princeton-Plainsboro and shifting the power to characters other than House. Read on for more on the new faces as well as why Shore believes this season returns the show to its roots. Plus: Will this season be the show's last?

Hugh Laurie on Lisa Edelstein's House departure: We all miss her very much

Was it hard writing your way out of last year' finale given that you lost a cast member over the summer?
Shore: Well, it was different because we had perimeters set for us that weren't ideal, that weren't planned for, and that we were disappointed with. But the good news is we're so bad at planning that we didn't really know how we were going to start this season anyway. So, we came at it the way you should come at it: We said, "Here's what we've got: What are the opportunities here?"

And what did you land on?
Shore: Bringing in new blood into the hospital is always an opportunity. House is at his best when he's dealing with new people and new situations and making deductions about new people and these situations. So, we're bringing in some new people. We're very excited about it. I certainly think the way we're starting this year is really invigorating and we're going back to our roots a little bit.

But first you have to get House out of jail. Is it safe to assume his sentence is related to driving his car through Cuddy's house, or is there more to it than that?
Shore: That's a fair assumption. [But] there's always more psychologically to it.

Is he only in jail for that first episode?
Shore: I don't want to give away the specifics. But we felt it was important that he pay a price for the way last year ended and for what he did. He certainly did something illegal and dangerous and, I would say, irrational. House is a rational being, and he has to pay a price. But at the same time our desire this year is to have fun. [We want to] explore that, but also to get back to our roots and get back to the cases and the core of our show. So, we are quickly going to get back to a form of our old House.

Will having served time in any way affect his ability to practice medicine?
Shore: He certainly will be affected, but we don't want to turn this into a legal show. He's got this hanging over his head, but we don't want to turn this into a show about House trying to get his license back and the legalities of all that. Let's get House back in the hospital and get him practicing.

Even though you're looking forward, are you at all going to address Cuddy's absence?
Shore: There's going to be an acknowledgement, but it's not going to be a big story about her because unfortunately we don't have her to do that story with.

Do you think you'll ever have Lisa come back for a proper Cuddy wrap-up?
Shore: Eventually, that may be appropriate. Given that she was gone, we decided it was better to not just have her come back to leave. Down the road that might be more appropriate. It didn't seem right now.

You do have Robert Sean Leonard, who was very much at risk in that final scene as well. How will the Wilson-House dynamic change?
Shore: You'll have to watch the episodes, but certainly Wilson doesn't just simply forgive and forget.

Let's go back to these new doctors. Tell us more about Charlyne Yi's character.
Shore: She's a bit Old World. Her parents are immigrants and she has respect for their ways. She believes in hard work and earning what you get and getting ahead. She's very deferential, but she also has another side that we'll encourage her to explore.

Charlene's comedy plays off her awkwardness. Will you play use that or go against it?
Shore: That's what attracted us to her. I don't think she'll object if I say she's an unusual character That is her comedy, and that is her. We'd be idiots to not embrace that.

And House meets Odette Annable's character while he's in jail, right?
Shore: They meet in jail and they develop a connection and then the price is paid. ... She's working at the prison. She doesn't have to work at the prison. She's choosing to work at the prison and that says everything about her.

You said this year goes back to basics but also introduces new blood. Isn't that kind of a contradiction?
Shore: I think that's the best way to go back to basics. This allows us to take a fresh look at who House is, to get fresh eyes on his character and how unusual he is. I think that's the essence of it. Through these new characters' viewpoints, we get a jaded view of House.

What about House's non-work relationships? Is he still a married man?
Shore: The green card marriage? We don't deal with that. He may be [married], but we don't deal with that. You know, everything has moved on. The world's changed. House is still House, and he tries to put the world back together.

So House won't be in a romantic relationship this season?
Shore: I don't want [the show] to be about relationships in the sense of who's sleeping with who. At least not in the foreseeable future. It's about relationships in terms of how these people relate to each other. And the impact House's world view has on all the people around him.

What can we expect from those people around him this season?
Shore: At the end of last year, Taub (Peter Jacobson) had two women pregnant and we are going to deal with that this year. We are also going to deal with how Foreman (Omar Epps) and Chase's (Jesse Spencer) lives have changed over the intervening time. House has been in jail for quite some time, so everybody's lives have moved forward and that gives us opportunities.

Are you suggesting the power dynamics of the team have shifted?
Shore: I think that's a very fair assessment.

How much will we see of Thirteen (Olivia Wilde)?
Shore: You'll see her early this season. You won't see a lot of her. [Olivia] wants to do more movies, and we've acceded to that request with some sadness, but I'm happy for her.

Fox President Kevin Reilly has said this could be the last season of House. What are your thoughts on that?
Shore: I think the show itself potentially has life left in it, but I think a lot of that will depend on a lot of things. There is a chance that this will be the last year. Everybody's hoping it's not, but if it is, we want to do it right.

Have you begun planning an endgame in case this is the last year?
Shore: To some extent, yes. But it's clearly a contingency right now.

Most creators don't stay with a show this many seasons. Are you personally tired after seven seasons?
Shore: I'm tired of the job. I'm not tired of his character.

So, what do you want to accomplish with House's character this season? Will we see any change in him?
Shore: I know this is a crazy answer, but I don't want to see him change. I want to see him striving to change, and that what I've wanted to see him do since Day One. I want to see him striving for happiness. I like him and I find him interesting. What I want to do and what I enjoy doing is seeing him in situations I haven't seen him in before and seeing how he reacts to those situations and see how he takes those situations.

House returns Monday, Oct. 3 at 9/8c on Fox.

I'm looking forward to this season, still bummed out about Cuddy tho.

Well I must say I'm at least pretty intrigued at the idea that they're picking up roughly a year from where they left, that's a huge departure from the usual.

And I wonder (or would hope, for his own sake) if Shore is saying the things he is out loud about this being the possible last season, but that behind closed doors that he's got to know that as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow.

and with a year gone by, then Taub should have 2 kids

First of all, I'd been meaning to write in here, there was a press screener of the premiere (just missing a couple insert shots) that leaked to torrents like a full week ago, of course I couldn't help but watch it. First time that's ever happened with this show.

Based on the promo for the 2nd episode, it seems pretty obvious the new dean is

Spoiler: show

Foreman. Which, out of the 8 choices that the TV Guide guy gave us a couple months ago, that was my best guess, it makes the most sense. Wilson likely wouldn't have wanted it (if even offered) because it would've meant dealing that much more and closer with House upon his return, and probably the most laughable option Ausiello presented was Chi McBride's Vogler character from season 1 actually returning.

y'know, Prison House is pretty entertaining.


And it's got Urkel.

Weird, 3 shows in and no Teardrop intro.

Yea my best guess after the first two weeks was that some of the principle cast still wasn't back yet (Chase & Taub). we'll see.


Meanwhile, I can't fathom how Charlene Yi got this gig. It astounds me how bad of an actress she is. In this role, at least. I feel like I'm watching a 9th grader in drama class who just took the role for the school credit.

i think the reason I like House this season is the 2 new chicks, as he's got new people to fuck with, which is what I really enjoy about him.
Still, glad to see Taub and Chase comin back soon.

Though I will miss 13

nice to have Teardrop back.
I'm missin 13.
House and Foreman at the end was pretty fuckin funny.

and this promo is trying a little too hard I think.

Once again, the "twist" has failed to impress me.

I must say, this season's been strong so far. Having all this new staff has turned back the clock to when House just went around fucking with the new people, which brought the hilarity. Show's actually doing well, so perhaps this won't be the last season.

And I like Foreman's touch wall.

clear

It needs to last. Few procedurals can match the screenplay used for this programme.

I miss Olivia Wilde though.

i know I said I wouldn't fall for these promos that tease something dramatic happening....I know I said it...


Long version

well, that was a better reward for the tease than I expected.

"You coward"....I knew he was gonna do that.

it's official

House will close after season 8

By BILL HARRIS, QMI Agency

It doesn’t come as a completely out-of-the-blue surprise, but it still marked the end of an era on Wednesday when the executive producers of House - including star Hugh Laurie - issued a joint statement saying that this season, the eighth, will be the last.

House has been a staple on Fox and Global, but it was clear in the last year or two that, thematically speaking, the show was nearing its end. Laurie had begun to hint that he probably was ready to move on.

“The decision to end the show now, or ever, is a painful one,” said the joint statement from Laurie, David Shore and Katie Jacobs. “The show itself has been a source of great pride to everyone involved.

“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 eighth season is due to wrap up in April. By then House will have aired 177 episodes.