Everybody lies. But, for eight gripping seasons, there was a prescription for that.
It’s been more than 20 years since audiences were first bittersweetly charmed by the medical mystery drama House, starring Hugh Laurie as the titular acerbic, Vicodin-popping diagnostician whose brilliance was rivaled only by his jaded opinion of every patient who walked through the doors of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.
During the series’ 2004-to-2012 run on Fox, the faces on Dr. Gregory House’s team would change—Omar Epps, Jennifer Morrison and Jesse Spencer were the O.G.s, succeeded by Olivia Wilde, Kal Penn and more—but the formula remained the same: Admit a patient suffering from…hmm, something…and figure out what in holy heck was wrong before the hour was out.
And was it ever lupus?
Along the way, House ticked off everyone around him, including the Watson to his Sherlock, oncologist Dr. James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard), and his long-suffering boss-but-obviously-more Dr. Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein).
Ahead of the series finale in 2012, Laurie reflected on what made House and the show that borrowed his name so compelling.
“I think everyone realized that no matter how hard he was on them, he was harder on himself,” the British actor, who won two Golden Globes for his performance, told the Los Angeles Times. “We live in a world where people are afraid of being seen for who they really are. But House saw, and he understood.”
Laurie ended up feeling about as weary as House looked, though.
“There are very few things in life that are so deliciously enjoyable that you want to do them for 16 hours a day, every day—including sex and fine dining,” he told TheTelegraph in 2012.
So in the case of being on a technically exacting series for eight years, “It’s not the playing the character over and over again, it’s the coming to work over and over again,” Laurie explained. “You know, we have done 170 episodes now, I think. That’s about 50, 60 feature films’ worth. You want a break, you really do.”
But if you’re starting to feel a little feverish just thinking about how great House was, we’ve taken the liberty of booking you an appointment to see what Laurie and the rest of the cast are up to now:
Hugh Laurie
As the show’s titular brilliant but pain-addled doctor, Hugh Laurie led eight seasons of the iconic show and scooped up two Golden Globe awards in the process.
Since the show has wrapped, Laurie has had standout supporting roles in the likes of Veep and The Night Manager (winning his third Golden Globe for his portrayal of Richard Onslow Roeper, “the worst man the world”) and directing a series adaptation of Agatha Christie‘s Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?
Charlyne Yi
After her role as Dr. Chi Park, Charlyne Yi landed a variety of co-stars in movies like This Is 40, Second Act and Always Be My Maybe and also voices various characters on the animated series Steven Universe.
Amber Tamblyn
While her season seven arc as the Martha M. Masters was short and sweet, we’ve seen a lot of Amber Tamblyn since when she starred in 24 episodes of Two and a Half Men and being a critical voice around the #MeToo movement.
Odette Annable
While she was the last to join House’s Diagnostics Team, Odette Annable made a big impression during the show’s final season.
After it wrapped, she starred in two shows that were one-season wonders (The Grinder and The Astronaut Wives Club) before landing her latest big role as Reign on Supergirl.
Peter Jacobson
We loved watching Peter Jacobson‘s portrayal as Taub, a dynamic character that was both an addict and a voice of reason for the other doctors.
Jacobson has brought that acting strength to additional roles on shows like Ray Donovan, The Americans, NCIS: Los Angeles and Colony.
Jesse Spencer
The last time we saw Dr. Robert Chase in the series, it was watching him replace House as the Head of Diagnostic Medicine.
Now, we see Jesse Spencer in show where he is leading a team as he plays the character Captain Matthew Casey in Chicago Fire.
Robert Sean Leonard
Robert Sean Leonard played Dr. James Wilson, who was House’s only true friend, as well as the Watson to his Holmes.
After portraying the unforgettable role on the show, Leonard went on to play a recurring role in Falling Skies and in the miniseries The Hot Zone. He also took the stage in theater productions of To Kill a Mockingbird, Camelot and more.
Omar Epps
Omar Epps‘ role as Dr. Eric Foreman wasn’t the only time we saw him in a white coat—after all, he had played Dr. Dennis Gant in ER.
After playing the NAACP Image Award-winning role, Epps went on to play major roles in Resurrection, Shooter and took on a recurring role in NBC’s This Is Us.
Jennifer Morrison
We were introduced to Jennifer Morrison‘s character Dr. Allison Cameron in the first season of House, where she was the only woman on the team at first.
Morrison went on to another huge role when she landed Emma Swan in ABC’s fantasy series Once Upon a Time. She also rejoined her co-star Epps on This Is Us—in the same timeline if not on camera—when she was cast in a recurring role on the drama series.
Kal Penn
While were heartbroken to see Kal Penn‘s Dr. Lawrence Kutner die in House, the actor had a good excuse, if not a doctor’s note, for checking out.
Penn had chosen to join Barack Obama‘s administration as an Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Engagement, leading the show to have to write off his character.
After serving his time in the White House, Penn returned to acting, including taking a lead role in the short-lived but acclaimed series Sunnyside.
Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde portrayed Dr. Remy “Thirteen” Hadley on the show, perfectly playing the bisexual M.D. who also had an interesting storyline involving learning she carried the Huntington’s disease gene.
After leaving the show to pursue her film career in the likes of Cowboys and Aliens, Wilde has since added writing and directing to her CV, helming Booksmart and Don’t Worry Darling.
Lisa Edelstein
After portraying Dr. Lisa Cuddy, which won Lisa Edelstein a number of accolades, including a People’s Choice Award, she took on recurring roles in shows like American Dad!, The Good Wife, Castle, The Kominsky Method and 9-1-1: Lone Star.
(Originally published July 2, 2024, at 3 a.m. PT)
