For the titular character, see. House also called House, M. The series' main character is , an unconventional, medical genius who, despite his dependence on pain medication, leads a team of at the fictional Princeton—Plainsboro Teaching Hospital PPTH in. The series' premise originated with , while , who is credited as creator, was primarily responsible for the conception of the title character. The series' executive producers included Shore, Attanasio, Attanasio's business partner , and film director. It was filmed largely in a neighborhood and business district in Los Angeles County's Westside called. House Also known as House, M. His flouting of hospital rules and procedures frequently leads him into conflict with his boss, hospital administrator and Dean of Medicine. House's only true friend is , head of the Department of. During the first three seasons, House's diagnostic team consists of , , and. At the end of the , this team disbands. Rejoined by Foreman, House gradually selects three new team members: , , and. Meanwhile, Chase and Cameron continue to appear in different roles at the hospital. Kutner dies late in ; early in , Cameron departs the hospital, and Chase returns to the diagnostic team. Thirteen takes a leave of absence for most of , and her position is filled by medical student. Cuddy and Masters depart before ; Foreman becomes the new Dean of Medicine, while and join House's team. House was among the top ten series in the United States from its second through. Distributed to 66 countries, House was the most-watched television program in the world in 2008. The show received , including five , two , a , and nine. On February 8, 2012, Fox announced that the eighth season, then in progress, would be its last. The series finale aired on May 21, 2012, following an hour-long retrospective. Conception In 2004, and , along with Attanasio's business partner , pitched the series untitled at the time to as a -style medical detective program, a hospital in which the doctors investigated symptoms and their causes. Jacobs has said that this stipulation was one of the many influences that led to the show's ultimate form. The suspects were the germs. But I quickly began to realize that we needed that character element. I mean, germs don't have motives. Shore felt it was important to have an interesting central character, one who could examine patients' personal characteristics and diagnose their ailments by figuring out their secrets and lies. As Shore and the rest of the creative team explored the character's possibilities, the program concept became less of procedure and more focused upon the lead role. Shore developed the characters further and wrote the script for the. Shore has said that the central storylines of several early episodes were based on the work of , a staff writer for between 1944 and 1994, who specialized in features about unusual medical cases. Shore traced the concept for the title character to his experience as a patient at a teaching hospital. The original idea was for House to use a wheelchair, but Fox rejected this. Jacobs later expressed her gratitude for the network's insistence that the character be reimagined—putting him on his feet added a crucial physical dimension. The writers ultimately chose to give House a damaged leg arising from an incorrect diagnosis, which requires him to use a cane and causes him pain that leads to a dependency. References to Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes serves as an inspiration for the series. References to the famous fictional detective created by appear throughout the series. Shore explained that he was always a Holmes fan and found the character's indifference to his clients unique. The resemblance is evident in House's reliance on and , even where it might not seem obviously applicable, and his reluctance to accept cases he finds uninteresting. His investigatory method is to eliminate diagnoses logically as they are proved impossible; Holmes used a similar method. Both characters play instruments House plays the piano, the guitar, and the harmonica; Holmes, the violin and take drugs House is dependent on ; recreationally. House's relationship with Dr. James Wilson echoes that between Holmes and his confidant,. House's address is 221B Baker Street, a direct reference to. Wilson's address is also 221B. Individual episodes of the series contain additional references to the Sherlock Holmes tales. House was a co-production of , , and in association with for Fox. Paul Attanasio and Katie Jacobs, the heads of Heel and Toe Films; David Shore, the head of Shore Z Productions; and , the head of Bad Hat Harry Productions, were of the program for its entirety. Moran joined the staff as writers at the beginning of the first season after the making of the pilot episode. Writers , , Russel Friend, and Garrett Lerner joined the team at the start of
