House – Season 7
Press Release:
PA: Viewer discretion is advised.
HOUSE AND CUDDY CALL IN SICK ON THE SEASON PREMIERE OF “HOUSE” MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, ON FOX
In the aftermath of last season’s emotional finale in which House and Cuddy admitted they had feelings for each other, as Season Seven begins, they are exploring the ramifications of those feelings and attempting to make a real relationship work. Meanwhile, due to a colleague’s illness, Princeton Plainsboro is left without a neurosurgeon on site, threatening the hospital’s accreditation as a Level 1 Trauma Center. As the team attempts treatment to get their sick colleague back to work, they discover there is more to the illness than they originally suspected and turn to House for direction. Instead, House remains elusive, leaving the team on its own in the “Now What?” season premiere episode of HOUSE airing Monday, Sept. 20 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (HOU-701) (TV-14 D, L, S)
Cast: Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House; Lisa Edelstein as Dr. Lisa Cuddy; Robert Sean Leonard as Dr. James Wilson; Omar Epps as Dr. Eric Foreman; Jesse Spencer as Dr. Robert Chase; Peter Jacobson as Dr. Chris Taub; Olivia Wilde as Thirteen/Dr. Remy Hadley
Guest Cast: Chris Connor as Alex; George Wyner as Richardson; Matthew Salinger as Malkin [Source: FOX Broadcasting Co.] [Promo Photos]
General Spoilers
Promotional Photos: [Hugh Laurie][Great New Promotional Posters][Cast Group Photo]
Promotional Videos: [Promos #1-7][Promos #8-9]
Spoiler Interview Videos: [Hugh Laurie Emmy Red Carpet]
[Hugh Laurie Talks About Huddy]
Spoiler:
That was one hell of a final scene. What should we take away from it?
KATIE JACOBS: This is real and something that they are going to try. It’s something they stayed away from for a long period of time because it’s dangerous and the consequences could be severe. But now they’re going to give it a try.
They’re going to make a go of a relationship?
JACOBS: Absolutely. Yes.
What are we led to believe happened after the screen faded to black?
JACOBS: That’s exactly the conversation we had. Does the audience want us to pick up two or three months later? Or is the audience interested in us [picking up right where we left off]? And it’s really dependent on the narrative. Last year when House checked himself into the psychiatric hospital, I felt like it wouldn’t be good enough for the audience just to see him come out the other end and [return] to Princeton Plainsboro. Even though they knew he would [eventually] return there, I wanted everybody to see the moment after.
So which scenario will you choose this time around?
JACOBS: Put it this way… I’m certainly in the camp of not wanting to miss much after the fade to black. Because the truth is the challenges that are ahead for them are the things that kept them apart to begin with. It’s not chemistry or the spark. It’s “How are we going to deal with this? We’re going to be together. What does that look like?” Cuddy is his superior at the hospital. And she’s a mother. Those are the kind of things we’re going to have fun with.
I could be wrong but I think Huddy fans want to see a real, non-hallucinatory sex scene.
JACOBS: I get it. We’re in the process of figuring all that out right now, so I don’t have an answer. But this isn’t just about the [season premiere]. This isn’t something that will work or fail in just one episode. We’re going to attempt to make a true exploration of this relationship.
Were you on set when that last scene was shot?
JACOBS: Yes. It was amazing. Our prop guy, Eddie, had tears in his eyes. You never know how people are going to react to the story, but seeing Eddie with tears in his eyes and happy with the fact that House and Cuddy were finally going to give it a try was very satisfying. [Source: E! Online]
Spoiler:
Question: Any House scoop?! —Dez
Ausiello: You bet, and straight from Doc Crankypants himself, no less. In the wake of this season’s (no pun intended) crushing finale, we may be about to meet a — gasp! — humbler House. As Hugh Laurie points out, when the M.D.’s patient died post-amputation, he was “suddenly rendered powerless. He suddenly [became], as we all are, that tiny little speck of dust floating in the cosmos, and he [realized] his smallness, insignificance, his inability to heal and save a life. He [was] undone at that moment, because he is someone who clings so fiercely to his own abilities that when those abilities just aren’t enough, he becomes nothing — or at least has to confront the possibility that he is nothing, as we all are in the grand scheme of things.”
Question: If Hugh Laurie doesn’t win an Emmy this year, I will start a riot! —Kameron
Ausiello: I can’t imagine it will come that, Kam. The scene in which House — in front of Cuddy — told his patient that he wished his leg had been amputated… that one alone oughta do the trick, don’t you think? And while Laurie himself would be the last person to speculate on his Emmy chances, even he recognized the power of the scene when he played it. “It sounds fanciful,” he tells me, “but I was very shaken by that sudden vulnerability, the truth he reveals because there is no alternative. He has to be open with this woman in order to save her. There is no more game-playing, no more trickery. He just has to tell her the truth. So you see sort of a naked House there in a way that is very startling.” He wasn’t the only one taken aback by the intensity of the material, either. “It was, for all of us, a very harrowing few days when we shot those scenes, including the one in the ambulance,” he recalls. “Very powerful stuff.” [Source: EW]
Spoiler:
Question: This House fan thanks you for posting that awesome Huddy picture! This House fan is also going to be greedy and ask you what else you know about the season premiere? —Julia
Ausiello: A fellow Trojan tipped me off that Hugh Laurie and Lisa Edelstein were on the USC campus Tuesday night shooting “some Huddy-ness.” Added the anonymous bystander: “They were kissing, hugging, and hand-holding. It was a fangirl’s dream come true. She had on the same outfit as in the beach pictures.” Speaking of those cutesy beach photos, series creator David Shore tells me that all may not be as it seems. “What the image depicts is rather different from what you’re going to experience when you watch the episode,” he reveals. “They’re [at the beach], but it’s not Beach Blanket Bingo.” [Source: EW]
Spoiler:
House’s seventh season will open with Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) acting like “a teenager in love skipping school,” whisking Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) away for an idyllic day without the pressures of their hospital and her child, says House executive producer Katie Jacobs. “Anywhere other than Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital is an easier place for them to be together in a relationship,” says Jacobs. “That’s where we start — ‘What if we only have each other?’ As their day goes on, Cuddy will learn that the locales they visit hold a secret significance.
Naturally, the lovers can’t avoid reality forever. “It would be impossible for Cuddy to spend every day as if her child and her professional life don’t exist; a little easier for House, since he is somewhat of a child himself,” says Jacobs. “But what’s cool about Season 7 is that House is going to try to stay off drugs and have a meaningful relationship. We don’t rush through this. It’s taken six years to get there, so this is not a story that’s going to be done in three episodes.
The true test will come in Episode 2, when the couple returns to work — where she’s always on top. What happens, asks Jacobs, “when you’re sleeping with your boss and she says ‘No’?” As the season progresses, Huddy will toy with getting domestic — and try to do normal “couple” things with Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) and Sam (Cynthia Watros), which could cause additional tension. “Will the four of them get along?” teases Jacobs.
As for the rest of the hospital staff, while Jennifer Morrison signed a deal to return for a few episodes as Cameron (at the producers’ discretion), don’t expect her to fill the slot temporarily vacated by Thirteen while Olivia Wilde shoots a film. Rather, a search is on for a new female doc, likely a romantic partner for one lucky surgeon. For Cuddy’s sake, let’s just hope this new addition isn’t House’s type. [Source: TV Guide Magazine]
Spoiler:
Question: Please can you give us some House news that is not about Huddy? —Monica
Ausiello: Here’s something: Series creator David Shore confirms that they’re casting a new female doc to fill the temporary void left by Olivia Wilde. “We’re working on it,” he tells me. “There’s no definitive answer [but] it’s something we’re figuring out.” [Source: EW]
Spoiler:
Hard as it is to imagine, next season on House, Doc Crankypants may be — gasp! — happy. At least happy-ish. In fact, in the premiere, we’ll see him smiling, laughing and canoodling on the beach with at-long-last lady love Cuddy. Clearly, this can only mean one thing: The relationship is doomed, right? “I don’t think [so], necessarily,” Hugh Laurie tells me. “But let’s face it, neither of these characters has a clean license.
“‘Buckle up,’” he adds, “would be my advice.”
Lisa Edelstein, who plays House’s significant other, shares her co-star’s trepidation. “I was terrified of saying ‘I love you,’” she admits. “But I think that in that final scene of season six, Cuddy makes that clear that she’s ready to go for it.”
Laurie is ready, too, weird as it may feel to him. “Even the appearance of happiness [in House] has taken some getting used to,” he says. “I had a week of happiness training before the season started up, and I’m whistling more than usual.”
Is his small-screen counterpart whistling more than he did, say, when he was with Sela Ward’s Stacy? “I’ve always thought of House as a romantic, and I don’t think romantics are much given to comparing,” Laurie demurs. “But speaking as a friend of House, he seems to be attracted to strong women. He likes to get as good as he gives — and I mean that in as many senses as are suitable for a family readership.” [Source: EW]
Spoiler:
Any scoop on ‘House’s Jennifer Morrison? – Aurore59
I checked in with Jennifer’s peeps, and the main headline is that ‘Warrior,’ the indie she did with Nick Nolte and Frank Grillo, hits theaters at Thanksgiving time. As for Morrison scrubbing back in as Cameron, I’m hearing that even though production is underway on the new season, there is no ‘House’ in her immediate future. [Source: Fancast]
Spoiler:
How long can House and Cuddy actually be together as a couple? It almost seems antithetical to the character and the show. — Dave T.
MICKEY: Executive producer Katie Jacobs has made it clear that Huddy is not a ratings ploy; she intends to see it through to its logical conclusion. If the snuggly promo photos are any indication, at least initially they’ll be aiming for true romance. But House will still be a medical drama and Master Gregory will still be very, very cranky. So for now, wipe those Moonlighting-related thoughts from your mind. [Source: TV Guide]
Spoiler:
As I teased previously, with Olivia Wilde off House for a while shooting Cowboys & Aliens, the Fox hit will be temporarily adding a new female doc to the roster at Princeton Plainsboro. And now I can tell you who she is: Amber Tamblyn!
The erstwhile Joan of Arcadia, I’m told, will appear in multiple episodes as a whip-smart med student House (Hugh Laurie) recruits for his diagnostic team — despite the fact that she isn’t yet 100 percent qualified to treat patients. And, of course, what I didn’t have to be told was that the youngster will have to find a way to adjust to her new mentor’s unique bedside manner.
So what do you think? I’m pretty much sold on this casting. Although I do kinda wish the Emmy nominee was coming on board for more than a few episodes… [Source: EW]
Yikes:
TV bosses behind hit medical series HOUSE are facing legal action from the show’s former assistant prop master who alleges he was fired for refusing to partake in debauched antics with his co-workers.
Carl Jones, who was dismissed from his role on Hugh Laurie’s programme in March (10), has filed papers at Los Angeles County Superior Court claiming he lost his job because he wasn’t willing to join in with the “degenerate conduct” of his superiors.
He alleges the bad behaviour included visits to strip clubs, drug taking and various sexual escapades.
An extract from the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ.com, reads, “(The) degenerate conduct (included) visits to strip bars, participation in getting drunk, stoned or intoxicated on cocaine, to participate in sexual conduct at the trailer, and other dangerous conduct.”
Jones also claims he saw his supervisors get drunk on tequila and engage in “throwing a knife at a target on set.”
He claims his attempts to report the alleged misconduct were ignored by co-producers and he was ultimately “blackballed” from working on the show.
Jones is suing for $1 million (£666,667) in damages over claims he suffered depression and a physical injury as a result of the alleged incidents. [Source: Contact Music]
Spoiler:
No one puts Baby in a corner…except Gregory House.
Dirty Dancing‘s Jennifer Grey will find herself in a no-win situation when she guest-stars on House this fall, sources confirm to me exclusively.
Grey—who begins work on the House set today—will play Abbey, the mother of an infant daughter who is displaying signs of a life-threatening illness. As House and Co. investigate her daughter’s developing symptoms, Abbey is faced with a treatment decision for her newborn that could affect not only her baby’s life but her own.
Her episode is scheduled to air in mid-October. [Source: EW]
Spoiler:
Lisa Edelstein says an early House episode will find her character, Dr. Cuddy, entrusting House with caring for her 3-year-old child. “We just started shooting this,” says Lisa. “House realizes he’s taken on a lot by dating a woman with a baby. She trusts him with the child because she knows he’s a brilliant doctor and not an evil guy, so he’s not going to kill the baby.” Off camera, Lisa says, Hugh Laurie is great with the child actor. “Hugh’s got three kids in real life so he is very good at making funny faces. Children really latch on to him.” But it’s an entirely different scenario between Dr. House and Cuddy’s tot. “House has a hard time connecting with the baby. He finds the child almost alien.”
House executive producer David Shore says Amber Tamblyn’s new character (a fill in for Olivia Wilde’s absent Thirteen), “is a brilliant medical student with not a lot of experience in the real world, so facing House is like being thrown in to the deep end.” Jesse Spencer, whose Dr. Chase starts the season off as a single guy hopping from one lady to the next, hinted to me that Chase will most likely be matched with Amber romantically. “Post divorce, he starts sewing his wild oats a bit, which is fun for me to play,” Jesse says. “Most of the women he’s pursuing are outside the hospital, but that could change once he meets Amber’s character.” [Source: TV Guide]
Spoiler:
By now we’re all familiar with that photo of House and Cuddy (Hugh Laurie and Lisa Edelstein) cozying it up on the beach, taken earlier this summer, but House creator and executive producer David Shore says we shouldn’t read too much into the image. “That picture was so deceptive. It’s not going to be lovey-dovey, happily ever after,” says Shore. “I think the picture is taken between takes, of the two of them relaxing.”
And though House and Cuddy are making a go of it, rest assured, House is still House. “[The relationship] is not sweet. House doesn’t suddenly become happy and domesticated,” says Shore. “We do it in a very House-like way. He’s still that character that people love and Cuddy is still Cuddy. And they’re trying to make a go of it as they are.”
Shore and his fellow writers felt they really had no option but to explore a relationship between the two characters. “We’d done the dance long enough,” says Shore. “We had fun dancing around it, we had fun playing with the sexual tension, but it was time to move on and explore the actual relationship. So we’re having fun with that.”
“It’s pretty bold,” adds Edelstein. “But I really trust David in the way he’s steered the ship so far. It doesn’t have to work, but it has to be done. And I think they really love each other. I just don’t know if they’re capable of maintaining it.” [Source: TV Guide]
Spoiler:
House and Cuddy — give me the dirt. — Caren
MICKEY: The writers and producers of House “are addressing all the concerns one might have when the main characters of a show get together,” Lisa Edelstein says. “This is a real relationship.” One snag: House might be ready to pursue love with Cuddy, but he ain’t exactly ready to be a dad. “We’re just now getting into that now,” Edelstein says. And it doesn’t sound good. [Source: TV Guide]
Spoiler:
Question: I know she’s on CSI: NY now, but is there any chance Sela Ward will be returning to House this season? —Josh
Ausiello: No. That particular ’ship has sailed. This season’s all about the Cuddster. “House and Cuddy alone in a room have had chemistry—that’s never been in doubt,” says exec producer Katie Jacobs. “Can it work in the real world? Can it work with them being coworkers? She’s his boss, she has a kid, he’s always breaking the rules… Can it work? I don’t know, but that’s the question [this season]. And she’s not necessarily trying to change him. It’s not like she goes, ‘Oh well, I’ll give it a try with House and hopefully he’ll grow up.’ He’s never going to grow up. And she sort of thinks, ‘I love him enough, maybe it could work. It’s complicated.’”
Question: I’m kind of obsessed with your story about House’s new opening title sequence. How exactly will it be different? —Jennifer
Ausiello: Let’s ask Katie Jacobs, who’s working on the revamp as we speak. “It’s not all new,” she says, “but I’m making a few changes because Jennifer [Morrison] is no longer in the main titles. And I am changing a little bit more than that, but I’m not changing so much that you’re losing what you love about the opening titles.” Jacobs also confirmed that a “few new names”—presumably Olivia Wilde and Peter Jacobson—have been added to the opening as well. [Source: EW]
Spoiler:
‘House‘ creator David Shore had a lot to share about Season 7 when Fancast spoke to him at Fox’s All-Star Party.
For one, Shore revealed that the new season picks up “basically right after” House and Cuddy (played by Hugh Laurie and Lisa Edelstein) finally and passionately clinched in the May finale. As such, he says that viewers will “more or less” see things ‘tween the two heat up even further during the September 20 season opener.
The writers made that choice because “we want to explore the start of that relationship” rather than gloss over it, Shore says.
But have no fear – long-elusive love won’t mellow the snarkiest doctor on TV. “House is still the bastard he’s always been,” Shore assures fans [Source: Fancast]
Spoiler:
Question: My birthday is this Thursday, so I think I deserve some House scoop. I miss Jennifer Morrison and I was wondering if she is still returning for a few episodes this season. —Jen
Ausiello: Producers have an option to bring her back for three episodes, but it remains to be seen if that option will be exercised. My guess is it will, but not until later in the season.
Question: Any word on if we will see House babysitting Cuddy’s baby this season on House? —Janine
Ausiello: We will. An early season 7 eppy will find Dr. Crankydoodle spending some one-on-one time with little Rachel. The playdate will underscore one of the biggest challenges facing Huddy. “She’s a single parent, and I think it’s only right that we deal with that issue,” says exec producer Katie Jacobs. “House is her significant other, and she also has a kid. We will explore the reality of what that means and how willing Cuddy is at first to share Rachel and expose her child to the relationship. And because it is a real relationship, I think she feels obligated to.” [Source: EW]
Spoiler:
I’m a fan of ‘House.’ Is there any news? – Sunshiner
If only because Olivia Wilde brings so much pretty to the screen, I asked EP Katie Jacobs for just how long Thirteen will be MIA when the new season picks up. Katie though refused to give me a number, explaining in this red carpet video, “It’s linked to narrative. When Thirteen does come back, it’s not like she’s just going to be sitting in the office doing a diagnosis. There’s a real reason why she had to leave – it’s surprising and juicy and it deepens her character and our understanding of her.” Wilde’s return also won’t necessarily dictate a hasty exit for Amber Tamblyn’s newbie. [Source: Fancast]
Spoiler:
As Lisa Cuddy on House, Lisa Edelstein has established one of our favorite characters on TV.
The doctor took a major step at the conclusion of season, admitting her love for her cantankerous co-worker. It’s a storyline that will create the basis for the show’s seventh season, which premieres on September 20.
In the following exclusive interview, Edelstein spills a few House spoilers and sheds light on the relationship between these characters…
What are we in for this season?
They’re really exploring this relationship between House and Cuddy. What’s great about what [creator David Shore] has done is he’s really incorporated all the things one would worry about in terms of two main characters getting together on a show, into what it means for two people who work together in this hospital to get together. So he gets to confront it head on all of those issues.
Will it be smooth sailing for Cuddy and House?
Absolutely not [Laughs].
Many viewers wonder how House manages to stay employed at the hospital with all of antics?
He also saves a lot of lives. Ultimately, he gets the results and Cuddy really respects him professionally and House knows she’s creating boundaries that he doesn’t know how to make for himself.
The episode “5 to 9″ was so great. Will there be another episode from Cuddy’s point of view this season?
Thank you. I was terrified to do that episode because it’s not a show called “Cuddy” and I didn’t want to disappoint the people. I loved doing it, it was great. I don’t know if there will be another one. They don’t tell me those things. They hand me a script and the next day we start shooting it.
How is Cuddy dealing with the baby this season? Any more in her near future?
The baby definitely comes into play with her relationship with House. She’s got to be a part of that. It certainly one of the road blocks. [No more babies coming] that I know of.
Will we be introduced to anyone new this season?
Yes. Amber Tamblyn is coming onto the show. I just met her once and she seems really nice and cool and professional, so that’s good. She plays a new character on House’s team.
Is everyone like a family on set?
Definitely. We have a great group. There’s no crazy person, there’s no jerk or egomaniac. There’s a bunch of smart people who work, are workers, and want to do their job. It’s a nice atmosphere.
Hugh Laurie has a reputation for being very meticulous with his worth ethic. Are you the same way?
I have less of a challenge than he does. I’m not speaking in a foreign accent and I have far less dialogue than he does. I think he’s got a lot more on his plate than I do. Since most of my scenes are with him, I definitely try to show up with my work done so that I know I’m not going to hold up the process in anything. [Source: TV Fanatic]
House: What’s New and What’s Ahead!
 © 2010 FOX Broadcasting Co. |
Since the new season of House is about to begin (check the countdown in the right sidebar for the exact amount of time we still have to wait), I’ve been getting this blog updated and ready. I’ve added a couple of new pages and updated a lot of the old material too. You might want to get ready for the season premiere by browsing through all the spoilers and new bio information. Here’s what’s new on this site so far:
- Season 7 info – I have updated it already with everything we know so far about the season ahead, including lots of interviews, spoilers and links to the promos and videos I’ve already posted. At any time during the season, you can flip to this page and see details about the episodes individually and general spoilers about the season. I’ll update it daily.
- Amber Tamblyn bio – We know that Amber Tamblyn will be joining the team while Thirteen is out of the picture, and we have hints that she may stay around a while this season. So I’ve put together a bio for her so you can find out more aobut this very talented actress.
- Updated Cast bios – they’ve all been busy on their own projects here and there and some of them have had new awards and new nominations, so I’ve updated their bios.
