(Reuters) – TV medical drama “House” ends on a
bittersweet note this month in a series finale titled “Everybody Dies” that sees cantankerous but
brilliant Dr. Gregory House examining his future and personal demons, show creator David Shore said on
Thursday.
Hugh Laurie poses as he arrives at the series finale wrap party of the television series "House
M.D." in Los Angeles, California April 20, 2012. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
But Shore refused to give details of the final episode, or how
returning characters including doctors Alison Cameron (Jennifer Morrison), Remy “Thirteen” Hadley
(Olivia Wilde) or the dead Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn) will make their mark as “House” ends its run
after eight years.
“It is definitely an ending. I don’t want to say more than that. We never do
happy endings but we also try not to simply do miserable endings. Bittersweet is the most you can hope
for,” Shore told reporters ahead of the two-hour series finale on May 21.
“It’s about House
assessing his future,” Shore said. “We developed the idea for the final episode months and months ago
… It allowed us to explore the nature of House’s character and it also allowed us to naturally bring
back other people.”
The title of the series finale also is a nod to 2004’s first episode of the
Emmy award-winning show called “Everybody Lies” – a phrase that became the mantra for British actor
Hugh Laurie’s misanthropic, rule-breaking diagnostician in his bid to solve medical
puzzles.
“House” was named the most popular current TV show in the world in the 2012 edition of
the Guinness World Records. It has an estimated audience of 81.8 million people in 66
countries.
Shore said he envisioned no endgame in mind when he created the series eight years
ago, calling the idea of a mapped-out finale at that stage “incredibly pompous” in the fickle world of
television.
And he said he had few regrets about key cast changes over the years and storylines
that have seen House in prison, in rehab, and even in love, most controversially with his boss,
hospital administrator Dr. Lisa Cuddy, played by Lisa Edelstein.
Edelstein, who left the show
last year as her love affair with House turned sour, won’t be returning for the last
episode.
But Shore on Thursday defended the storyline that finally brought the two characters
together.
“I know a lot of people thought we should have done it better, a lot of people thought
we shouldn’t have done it, a lot of people thought we should have kept them together. It’s been a bit
of a lightning rod. I’m not saying we did everything perfect … But fundamentally we had to (put them
together). You can’t have sexual tension go on and on and on,” he said.
He also declined to
elaborate on how the character of Kutner – who was found shot to death three years ago – and those of
Cameron, Thirteen and Masters (Amber Tamblyn) would re-appear in the final episode.
As to who
will die? Stay tuned for the May 21 finale on Fox television and a one-hour retrospective of clips and
interviews with the show’s stars and producers.
(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob
Tourtellotte)
