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David Shore, Katie Jacobs And Hugh Laurie On The End Of ‘House’ It’s the end of the road for veteran medical drama _House_, which will bow out after the end of its current eighth season on
Fox in May. The network has granted creator David Shore’s wish for an early decision to allow him to give the series and its characters a proper ending. The move opens the door for renewal
of another Fox drama in need of an early verdict, freshman _Terra Nova_. Shore originally was hoping for a resolution by end of last year but he and the network “agreed mutually to put it
off until after the first of the year,” Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly said at TCA in January. At the time he admitted that he’s been “avoiding” making the decision because “it’s
hard to imagine the network without _House_… It’s going to be a close call.” I hear the network made that call over the past 24 hours, siding with Shore who felt that creatively the series
was in a place where he wanted to bring it home. Shore had the support of fellow _House_ executive producer Katie Jacobs and star/executive producer Hugh Laurie. “While it’s with much
regret, and a lump in our throats, we respect the decision Hugh, David and Katie have made,” Reilly said in a statement today. “A true original, on the page and amazingly brought to life by
Hugh Laurie, there is only one Dr. House. For eight seasons, the entire _House_ team has given us – and fans around the world – some of the most compelling characters and affecting stories
ever seen on television.” The cancellation decision prevents another protracted, bruising license fee negotiation between Fox and _House_ producer Universal Television, which last year
stretched into May. Universal would’ve liked to see _House_ continue as it is hugely profitable for the studio with strong international sales (_House_ is one of the most popular U.K. series
in the world) and an off-network deal with USA Network. At TCA, NBC Entertainment chairman Greenblatt, who also oversees Universal TV, said that the studio was considering ways to bring the
cost of the aging series down so it could continue on Fox. But the studio was facing potential tough renegotiations with star Hugh Laurie whose deal is up at the end of this season.
Universal’s efforts to trim actors’ salaries last year didn’t go well, leading to the shocking exit of popular co-star Lisa Edelstein. The studio also doesn’t have a deal with Shore beyond
this season. With _House_ over at Fox, the only realistic possibility for the series to continue elsewhere would be at NBC the way CBS took in _Medium_ and ABC picked up _Scrubs_, both
produced by their sibling studios, after they were cancelled by NBC. But Greenblatt pretty much ruled out that scenario last month, saying that picking up a show “at that cost structure in
this situation” wouldn’t be a shrewd business move. Shore, Jacobs and Lurie also closed the door on that in their statement today. WATCH ON DEADLINE After a slow start and facing
cancellation after its first season, _House_ grew into a bonafide hit and was Fox’s highest-rated scripted series for most of its run. Last season, the series’ ratings started to drop off
significantly, a trend that continued this season. Still, the medical show remains as one of Fox’s strongest drama series and has been used to launch a number of new series. It will do it
one last time this spring with Kiefer Sutherland’s _Touch_. _House_ went through several rounds of major casting changes, first after Season 3 when it added Peter Jacobson, Kal Penn and
Olivia Wilde, then after Season 6 when original cast member Jennifer Morrison left and then again last summer when Edelstein departed, and Odette Annable and Charlyne Yi were added to the
main cast. (Wilde too left to focus on her feature career.)