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Complete Text of David Shore, Katie Jacobs and Hugh Laurie Statement about House
After much deliberation, the producers of House M.D. have decided that
this season of the show, the 8th, should be the last. By April this
year they will have completed 177 episodes, which is about 175 more
than anyone expected back in 2004.
The decision to end the show now, or ever, is a painful one, as it
risks putting asunder hundreds of close friendships that have
developed over the last eight years – but also because the show itself
has been a source of great pride to everyone involved.
Since it began, House has aspired to offer a coherent and satisfying
world in which everlasting human questions of ethics and emotion,
logic and truth, could be examined, played out, and occasionally
answered. This sounds like fancy talk, but it really isn’t. House
has, in its time, intrigued audiences around the world in vast
numbers, and has shown that there is a strong appetite for television
drama that relies on more than prettiness or gun play.
But now that time is drawing to a close. 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 producers can never sufficiently express their gratitude to the
hundreds of dedicated artists and technicians who have given so
generously of their energy and talent to make House the show it has
been – and perhaps will continue to be for some time, on one cable
network or another.
The makers of House would also like to thank Fox Broadcasting and
Universal Television for supporting the show with patience,
imagination and large quantities of good taste. The
Studio-As-Evil-Adversary is one of the many clichés that House has
managed to avoid, and for that the cast and crew are deeply grateful.
Lastly, the audience: some have come and some have gone, obviously.
This is to be expected in the life of any show. But over the course
of the last eight years, the producers of House have felt immensely
honored to be the subject of such close attention by an intelligent,
discriminating, humane and thoughtful – not to mention numerous -
audience. Even the show’s detractors have been flattering in their
way. Making the show has felt like a lively and passionate discussion
about as many different subjects as could possibly be raised in 177
hours. The devotion and generosity of our viewers has been marvelous
to behold.
So, finally, everyone at House will bid farewell to the audience and
to each other with more than a few tears, but also with a deep feeling
of gratitude for the grand adventure they have been privileged to
enjoy for the last eight years. If the show lives on somewhere, with
somebody, as a fond memory, then that is a precious feat, of which we
will always be proud.
Everybody Lies.
she would pick strawberries during the years between my grandparents’ departure for the U.S. and my mother’s journey to the Goldene Medina (Golden Land).
