The Big Picture

• House, M.D. reinvented medical TV series with its flawed but lovable main character, Dr. Gregory House.
• Some seasons had underwhelming moments, but overall, House, M.D. delivered peak TV with complex storylines.
• Season 8 marked a satisfying end to the series, showcasing House's growth and selflessness in the face of adversity.

House, M.D. needs no introduction. Winning five Emmys and earning many more nominations, House, M.D. reinvented medical TV series with a flawed but lovable main character. The cane-wielding, tyrannical behavior of Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) quickly won over fans within its first season, keeping them enthralled until the very end. Deep within his philosophy, outlandish brashness, and genius, the series explores the relationships he builds — and inevitably destroys.

Running for eight seasons, from 2004 to 2012, the Fox drama showcased the complexities of medicine, highlighting the need for doctors as dedicated as the crew at Princeton-Plainsboro. While axiomatically a popular show, House, M.D. wasn’t without its pitfalls. Many viewers complained about the show's direction as it reached its mid-season with cast changes and story swerves. Some seasons were underwhelming, but some of them were peak TV.

Season 7

Season Premiere: September 20, 2010

Season 7, being the second last season, premiered in 2010 and ended in 2011, running for 23 episodes. This season hard a sharp focus on Dr. House and Cuddy’s (Lisa Edelstein) relationship, showcasing the obvious reasons they didn’t enter it sooner. House held back in fear of being dumped promptly after beginning the relationship and finding it hard to look past Cuddy having a young daughter; he does not care for children. Cuddy likewise has reservations, as she attempts to control the balance of being a boss and a girlfriend, fearing she will make irrational decisions amid their love. Other side storylines included Taub (Peter Jacobson) impregnating two women; Thirteen (Olivia Wilde) taking leave to care for her dying brother and thus being replaced with Masters (Amber Tamblyn); and Chase (Jesse Spencer) dealing with the aftermath of his divorce.

Season 7 was the let-down of the series, for it underdeveloped a potential change in House’s character through a meaningless relationship with Cuddy. Slow-burning since Season 1, the "Huddy" relationship ended as quickly as it started, taking away the anticipation that House may begin to see the world less cynically. Further, the ups and downs of their infatuation took away from both the medical issues explored in the series and the more interesting character development of the rest of the cast.

Season 3

Season Premiere: September 5, 2006

Season 3 contained 24 episodes, spanning from 2006 to 2007. Viewers began to see the prominence of House’s Vicodin addiction. The characteristic of pill-popping becomes the potential downfall of House’s career when a difficult patient is actually a policeman who attempts to jail him for illegal possession of the drug. Meanwhile, Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) and Chase become friends with benefits until Chase admits his feelings for her, and Foreman (Omar Epps) fears that he is becoming too much like House. The season ends with Foreman quitting, House firing Chase for no reason, and Cameron leaving in defiance of House’s actions, leaving the diagnostic team empty.

Season 3 takes a lower ranking due to its significance within the whole series. It effectively cuts the series in two: before House fires his team and after he forms a new one. The season became a hallmark of change, whereby the storyline integrated substance into the character arcs instead of just focusing on the medical cases. While Season 3 breaks away from the cookie-cutter episode storyline and ends with the team disbanding, it doesn’t establish itself in the greater scheme of things.

Season 4

Season Premiere: September 25, 2007

Season 4 of House, M.D. was televised from 2006 to 2007 and was the shortest season, with only 16 episodes. Disrupting the usual dynamic, Season 4 explores House toying with potential candidates to fill in spots in the new diagnostic team. The diagnostic team eventually settles with Dr. Taub, Dr. Kutner (Kal Penn), and Dr. Hadley (aka "Thirteen") alongside the returned Foreman. Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) secretly dates one of the rejected candidates — Amber (Anne Dudek) — causing tension between himself and House. The season ends with House in a bus accident, alongside Amber, who Wilson is forced to say goodbye to when he makes the hard choice to take her off life support.

Fans were expecting long-term consequences for House firing his team last season but were instead presented with too many characters scrambling in a bid to work with the infamous head of diagnostics. Season 4, while unique compared to other seasons, lacked both character development and medical guise. It was, however, the start of the character development for all the characters leading into Season 5 and beyond.

Season 2

Season Premiere: September 13, 2005

The second installment of House, M.D. aired from 2005 to 2006, containing 24 episodes. House’s ex, Stacy (Sela Ward), becomes the predominant figure in the season when she joins Princeton-Plainsboro as a lawyer, causing House to realize he still has feelings for her. Meanwhile, Cameron experiments with sex and drugs; Chase loses his father to lung cancer and accidentally kills a patient, and Foreman becomes infected and almost dies. Season 2 ends with House being shot in the leg by the partner of an old patient, where he is seen being rushed into an emergency room.

In the middle of the ranks, Season 2 was the season that redefined the rest of the series. Unlike Season 1, Season 2 seeks to humanize House and deepen the complexities of his nature. While it may be in the middle, the season isn't lacking; instead, it signals the start of a better version of House, M.D.

Season 5

Season Premiere: September 16, 2008

Season 5 premiered in 2008 and ended in 2009, featuring 24 episodes. House and Wilson’s relationship strains under the weight of Amber’s death, which comes to a head and halt when House’s father passes. Thirteen struggles with her declining health due to Huntington’s disease but is comforted by her newfound relationship with Foreman, and Cuddy adopts a little girl called Rachel. The bombshell of the season hits when Kutner dies of suicide, causing the cast to reflect on their struggles and their inability to have seen it coming. Soon after, as an effect of his Vicodin abuse, House hallucinates about Amber and Kutner regularly, which leads to his arrival at the rehab center at the end of the season.

Emotionally charged, Season 5 is one of the best seasons of House, M.D. At its peak, the season introduces viewers to a multi-faceted version of House, past his egregious self. Fans finally see House suffer severe consequences of his actions, whereby his excessive use of drugs ends his emotional plateau, landing him in a state of change. One of the best finales, Season 5 shines through as the breaking point for House and the other characters.

Season 6

Season Premiere: September 20, 2009

Airing from 2009 to 2010, Season 6 contained 21 episodes. In a plot twist, House becomes the one who needs saving as he admits himself into Mayfield Psychiatric Hospital under the supervision of Dr. Nolan (Andre Braugher). Foreman replaces him as head of diagnostics when it’s announced that House is giving up his medical career, causing the termination of his relationship with Thirteen and the rest of the team to disband. Chase and Cameron join the team again, only for Cameron to leave after Chase chooses to let an African dictator die. As House realizes that solving medical mysteries distracts him from pain, he brings back the team. Meanwhile, his feelings for Cuddy become convoluted in their newfound relationship, though the end of the series marks the start of their connection.

Season 6 took House, M.D. to levels fans have been waiting for since the first time they watched the show. Season 6 showcased a happier side of House that viewers hadn’t had the pleasure of seeing before ripping it away again for his development. The cinematography was also experimented with, complementing the storyline in an artistic rendition of House’s mental downfall. The chaotic, tilted camera angles mimic House’s disillusioned state, indicating to fans that their favorite doctor isn’t as rational as he often prides himself on being. A new aesthetic take that will last in the later seasons, Season 6 is as dynamic as it is entertaining.

Season 1

Season Premiere: November 16, 2004

The start of House, M.D., the season aired from 2004 to 2005, bringing together 22 episodes to introduce to the world. Found out for avoiding clinic duty, Hugh Laurie showcases a stellar performance as an egotistical genius as he tests his luck with Cuddy. However, the dynamic changes at Princeton-Plainsboro when chairman Vogler (Chi McBride) refuses to allow House to stay his usual self. As a result, House is instructed to fire one person to cut the costs of the diagnostic team. Chase, Cameron, and Foreman turn on each other, and Wilson and House both get fired until Cuddy realizes that Vogler doesn’t have the hospital’s best interest and fires him instead. The season ends with House diagnosing his ex-girlfriend’s husband and her beginning work as the hospital’s general counsel.

The 24th most-watched television show of 2004/2005, House, M.D. redefined medical dramas through an unconventional main character: an unpredictable but perceptive diagnostician. Proving nihilism can be compelling; viewers see a flawed doctor work hard to solve medical issues while creating personal problems through his stubbornness and unwillingness to see any point but his own. Season 1 earns a top spot due to the nostalgia, a reminder of the roots of a spectacular series.

Season 8

Season Premiere: October 3, 2011

Season 8 — the final season of House, M.D — spanned from 2011 and concluded in 2012 after 23 episodes. After getting out of prison, House works under Foreman’s reign, with new team members Park (Charlyne Yi) and Adams (Odette Annable), alongside Chase and Taub. House surprises everyone when he marries Dominika (Karolina Wydra) for her to get into the country, but unsurprisingly causes issues when his mother (Diane Baker) introduces him to her new husband (Billy Connolly) — a man whom House mistakenly thinks is his biological father. The biggest plot twist of the entire series, Wilson ironically becomes sick with an incurable type of cancer, which maddens House when he decides against treatment. Given a maximum of a few months to live, the men spend as much time together as possible. But, when a prank sends House back to jail, House ultimately decides to fake his death to spend the remainder of Wilson’s time left together.

As Season 8 drew a close to the marvelous medical drama, it left behind questions about House and Wilson’s future. Frustrating to some, it holds a certain satisfaction to not knowing whether House has genuinely changed or whether his newfound selflessness is only relevant in the face of adversity. Giving up his desire to solve medical mysteries, risking prolonged jail time, and severing ties with everyone he has ever met, House finally proved to care about anyone but himself, holding onto his friendship with a dying Wilson until his inevitable end. As controversial as Season 8’s ending may have been, the final diagnosis is clear: Season 8 ranks as the best season in the perplexing, manic chaos of House, M.D.

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