Summary
- Dr. Kutner’s suicide in House MD was shocking and abrupt, leaving viewers wondering why. There was no clear explanation given within the show.
- Actor Kal Penn left the show because he was offered a position in the White House. This led to a difficult conversation with the showrunners.
- The lack of explanation behind Kutner’s suicide was intentional, adding to the mystery and complexity of the character. House MD writer David Shore wanted to explore the idea of not truly knowing someone, even after working closely with them.
The following contains discussions of suicide.
A number of characters were killed off over the course of House MD, but the most abrupt and shocking death of all came when Dr. Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn) committed suicide in season 5, episode 20, “Simple Explanation.” Kutner had been introduced in season 4 as one of a large pool of applicants whom Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) forced to compete for a limited number of consultant positions. So why did Kutner kill himself in House MD? Though he was fired and rehired numerous times throughout the competition, Kutner ultimately made the final cut alongside Dr. Remy “Thirteen” Hadley (Olivia Wilde) and Dr. Chris Taub (Peter Jacobson).
Kutner was smart and passionate about his work, showing no outward signs of depression as he and his colleagues solved mysteries with the medical Sherlock Holmes himself, Dr. House MD. In “Simple Explanation,” after Kutner fails to show up for work, Thirteen and Foreman (Omar Epps) go to his apartment and find him dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. But why did Kutner kill himself in House MD, and why did it come out of nowhere in the series? Other than Cuddy leaving House MD before the final season, Kutner’s abrupt death was one of the most shocking in the medical series. Ultimately, Dr. House learns to accept that Kutner committed suicide and there may never be a real explanation for it. Off-screen, there actually was a simple explanation for why actor Kal Penn left the show.
House Killed Off Kutner Because Kal Penn Wanted To Leave The Show
Why did Kutner kill himself? Ultimately, it’s because actor Kal Penn left House MD for a different kind of house – the White House. Speaking in an interview (via NPR), Penn recalled that his co-star Olivia Wilde invited him to an event for then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama during the 2007 Democratic primaries. At the time Penn had read Obama’s book but wasn’t interested in getting involved in politics. Attending the event, however, changed his mind:
“I went to this event with [Wilde], really actually liked it…[and] was enamored enough by his campaign. So I’ll do three days in Iowa before the caucuses… And then he won! And there was an opportunity to serve in the White House, and… you know, what are you gonna say, ‘No Mr. President, I have another stoner movie to make?'”
Penn was offered a position as associate director in the White House Office of Public Engagement in early 2009. The job offer was the ultimate reason he broke his House MD contract, which led to a difficult conversation with the showrunners. Speaking in an interview (via EW), Penn recalled:
“We had a very long discussion. And I remember David [Shore] saying, ‘Are you telling me that you’re unhappy with the show and that you want to leave so you can go off and do a different show?’ And I was like, ‘Not at all. I’m actually saying the exact opposite, which is I’m having an incredible time, but there’s something aching in me to do something completely different and take a break from the acting thing for a while.’ And with their blessing, we were able to work it out.”
After serving two years in the White House, Penn left in 2011 and joined How I Met Your Mother in a recurring role. He did eventually return to House MD for the season 8 series finale, “Everybody Dies,” in 2012 – appearing as one of Dr. House’s hallucinations, which also included Dr. Cuddy – who had also left the show. That being said, while House driving a car through Cuddy’s living room after their breakup explains why Cuddy left House, Kutner’s death remains largely mysterious.
Why Did Kutner Kill Himself? The Lack Of Explanation Was The Point
Though Kutner’s death wasn’t the first time a major TV character committed suicide, it was unique in that there was never a real answer provided to the question, “why did Kutner kill himself?” Kutner didn’t leave a series of tapes detailing the thirteen reasons why he took his own life; he was simply showing up to work like normal in one episode and gone in the next. When asked in the EW interview why they didn’t simply have Kutner take a job at another hospital, House MD writer David Shore explained, “The suicide was essential to [the story]. The lack of reason behind it – the lack of answers – was what I responded to and is what I got excited about.“
House never finding a diagnosis or reason for Kutner’s death by suicide was a key part of the story, since House is the man who’s supposed to see everything. Shore elaborated:
“We wanted it to be a character who didn’t make sense – or didn’t superficially make sense. Obviously, there are reasons, but the notion that the reasons are too complicated for even House to figure out is what was drawing us to it. I like the fact that Kutner is almost the least likely guy to do this. And it gets down to the issue of, ‘Do we know anybody? You work with somebody for two years, but do you really know them?'”
Had Penn not received the job offer that he did and made the decision to leave the House MD cast, Kutner might just as easily have continued to be a major part of the show for years afterward. As it was, though, his departure made way for one of the most memorable and thought-provoking deaths in the show.
What Kal Penn Has Done Since House
Like so many of his former costars, Penn kept busy after House MD ended. Obviously, he was kept busy with his job in the Obama administration, but this didn’t stop Kal Penn from acting. He briefly left his White House post in 2009 to film A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, and then again in 2011 to accept a recurring role on How I Met Your Mother.
As well as these roles, Penn also played Seth Wright on Netflix’s Designated Survivor (a show he also acted as a consultant for). In 2019, he appeared on the sitcom Sunnyside, had a recurring role on The Big Bang Theory as Dr. Kevin Campbell, and played Shaan Tripathi on the 2021 series Clarice. The actor even has a political talk miniseries called Kal Penn Approves This Message. However, to many, Kal Penn’s role (and shocking death) on House MD remains one of his most memorable.
Why Kal Penn Left The White House And Returned To Acting
Although he began his White House tenure under President Obama, Kal Penn was still a member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities during Donald Trump’s term in office, and this is ultimately what led him to leave the White House for good and return to acting. Following 2017’s Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia (which saw members of multiple far-right groups gather to protest the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue), former president Donald Trump issued the infamous comment that there were “very fine people on both sides.”
This led much of the Arts and Humanities Committee, including Kal Penn, to resign out of protest, as they condemned the then-president’s response, which inadequately denounced the blatant bigotry and racism of the rally and even voiced some support for its members. Penn had long left House MD by this point, but his resignation from the White House did lead him to return to more acting work.
Kal Penn Brought His House Character Back
Several years after Kutner committed suicide on House, Kal Penn revived Dr. Kutner’s character for another job. Penn was the guest host for The Daily Show in early 2023, and he used the character for a sketch on the program. He even managed to get Dr. House himself to appear in the sketch – or more accurately, used existing footage of Hugh Laurie from the TV drama.
The Daily Show’s report focused on the “woke mind virus” as Penn discussed what that meant and cycled through various clips of Republican politicians mentioning it in speeches and interviews. Penn, as Dr. Kutner, then helped to “cure” a mind of that particular virus after asking a series of questions about things like racism and gender identity, which have also been talking points for political campaigns. The Daily Show sketch can be viewed on YouTube.
Penn using his previous role to offer satirical commentary on the current political climate in the United States is appropriate since he originally left the role in House MD to work in politics himself.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
