Exclusive: House Revival In Development
Hulu is developing a revival of the acclaimed Hugh Laurie medical drama House MD.
A revival of the critically beloved and massively popular medical drama House MD is currently in the works for the streaming service Hulu. According to our trusted and proven sources, the Hugh Laurie doctor series is part of the latest wave of revival series across the television landscape, which will likely be welcome news to fans of the series. It is currently unknown how many members of the huge, sprawling cast might be tempted to return, but there certainly can be no House MD revival without Hugh Laurie.
House MD first aired on the FOX network in 2004, eventually lasting eight seasons and an impressive 177 episodes. At one point, the show was the single most-watched television show on the planet and frequently rated nearly 20 million households in America alone watching it regularly. So, basically, it was very popular.
Unusually for such a popular program, House MD was also critically acclaimed, being nominated for (and frequently winning) literally dozens of awards including the Primetime Emmys, People’s Choice, Teen Choice, Golden Globes, and Screen Actor Guild prizes. Hugh Laurie himself won 14 awards alone, out of a total series nomination of 38.
All of this is pretty good for a show whose novel premise was essentially “what if a genius was a jerk?” While Hugh Laurie had previously been best known in his native United Kingdom for alternative comedy, frequently while partnered with Stephen Fry or Rowan Atkinson, the series made him one of the biggest television stars in the world, as well as one of the highest-paid. His portrayal of Gregory House as a misanthropic doctor whose bedside care usually consisted of insulting everyone in the vicinity was considered something of a modern-day Sherlock Holmes.
And just like the endlessly revived Sherlock Holmes, it seems House MD will be getting another chance to display callous behavior and astonishing deductive powers. It is not yet known whether Hulu is developing the series as a limited series or as an ongoing project, but that will likely depend on whether views can be drawn back in.
While it has to be a given that Hugh Laurie will return for House MD, it will be interesting to see how much of the rest of the cast will return. From season to season, the cast tended to add and subtract new doctors under House’s antagonistic mentorship, with Omar Epps and Olivia Wilde being the most notable supporting actors in the series. In particular, Wilde seems to be gravitating more and more to directing rather than acting, so Hulu might have to really sweeten the deal to get Thirteen back for an appearance.
Hugh Laurie most recently starred in the HBO science fiction series Avenue 5, which took place aboard an interplanetary cruise ship thrown off course and struggling to survive a long journey back to Earth with minimal supplies and maximum class conflict for darkly comedic purposes. The series was canceled after two seasons, so it seems like Hugh Laurie will have some time on his hands for the Hulu House MD revival.
