Summary

• House ended on season 8 to maintain its enigmatic allure and prevent storylines from becoming repetitive or stale.
• Despite the success and fan demand for more, negotiations for House season 9 fell short, leading to a series finale decision.
• Hugh Laurie was willing to take a pay cut to continue the show, indicating efforts were made to keep House going beyond season 8.

When House ended on season 8 in 2012, viewers questioned whether the incredibly popular Fox medical drama starring Hugh Laurie finished on its own accord or if the network canceled it. Starring Hugh Laurie as the titular Dr. Gregory House, the misanthropic and unorthodox head of diagnostic medicine at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey, House was heavily inspired by Sherlock Holmes and was one of the most-watched fictional TV shows in the world in 2008. However, by the time House season 8 was broadcast, the viewership numbers had dropped.

Not only had viewership dwindled, but significant House characters like Cuddy had left the show. This led to the three main parties behind the show — network Fox, main production company Universal Television, and creator Howard Shore's production team — discussing whether House had run its course after eight seasons on the air. Those conversations, however, were not straightforward. There are several reasons House ended on season 8, and while many viewers were sad to see the show go, the decision to close the doors on the misadventures of Dr. Gregory House was a well thought-out and considered one.

House is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Peacock

House's Producers Wanted To End The Show Before It Got Stale

The Star And Creator Of House Wanted To Finish On A High Note

A key reason that House finished after 8 seasons was that the creative team involved wanted to end the show on a high note without the risk of storylines getting repetitive, or the narrative steam running out. On February 8, 2012, following the broadcast of House season 8, episode 11, "Nobody's Fault," creator Howard Shore, star Hugh Laurie, and executive producer Katie Jacobs published an open letter, stating they decided the show's eighth season would be its last "after much deliberation."

Indications from the parties involved in the show's production suggest that House season 9 was a distinct possibility.

The producers wanted House to end after season 8 to keep its central character "an enigmatic creature." They wanted the show to finish while there was still an element of "mystique" surrounding Dr. Gregory House.

Many of the show's central actors, such as Olivia Wilde, mirrored Hugh Laurie by having successful careers after House ended, indicating the producers chose the right time to have the series come to a close. However, House ending with season 8 was not a simple foregone conclusion. Indications from the parties involved in the show's production suggest that House season 9 was a distinct possibility.

House Was Not Always Going To Be Canceled

There Were Plans For House Season 9

House ended after 8 seasons, but the show very nearly continued onto season 9. A report published by TV Guide in 2012 claimed that Universal Television wanted another season of House, with a full 22-episode run. Fox, reportedly paying $5 million an episode to broadcast the medical series, remained apprehensive, only willing to commit to a 13-episode House season 9. Negotiations between Fox and Universal Television surrounding the potential House season 9 crawled along until Howard Shore and Fox mutually agreed to have the show end after House season 8's finale.

Reilly stated at the January 2012 TCA press tour that House's future was undecided.

Although unconfirmed, the above tallies with comments made by Fox's then-president of entertainment, Kevin Reilly, only weeks before the official announcement. Reilly stated at the January 2012 TCA press tour that House's future was undecided. At the very least, this proves that it wasn't always planned for House season 8 to be the last. With some of House's central cast depleted by that point, canceling the series made some sense. However, there were attempts to keep things going.

There was talk that Laurie had agreed to take a significant pay cut (he was one of TV's highest-paid actors) to keep the show going

That same TV Guide report noted star Hugh Laurie was pushing for more of the series. There was talk that Laurie had agreed to take a significant pay cut (he was one of TV's highest-paid actors) to keep the show going, since it was an expensive series to produce. While ratings were down, they were still relatively strong, meaning fans wanted more of House. The eventual decision gave Shore and the production team enough time to make House season 8's final episode a true series finale.