Why House M.D. Is Worth Watching, Explained

When you think of the best medical TV drama series, there are a few that may come to mind: ER, The Good Doctor, Scrubs, or even ABC’s longest-running series, Grey’s Anatomy. While those are all great medical dramas, the best one is arguably House. Running from 2004 to 2012, the Fox hit show followed the pill-popping, narcissistic Dr. Gregory House, played by Hugh Laurie, who is the head of the Diagnostics department at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey.

Over the 8 seasons that the show aired, we watched House and his team solve medical mysteries. The cases ranged from the extraordinary, such as a little boy who inherited leprosy from his father, to the more common ones like Crohn’s disease. Regardless of the case, Dr. House handpicks his patients based on whether their medical ailment is interesting to him or not.

Most medical shows these days focus more on personal relationships, drama, and graphic surgery, as opposed to the actual act of being a doctor and healing a person. While the show House also uses these techniques, they take it a step further by focusing on the latter. With interesting medical cases, real-life debates, and believable characters, here’s what makes House one of the best medical dramas in TV history.

Updated Mar. 9, 2024: Following the resurgence of House‘s popularity, we’ve updated this analysis of the series with additional information, brand-new features, and where you can stream House.

Hugh Laurie’s Phenomenal Gregory House

You might recognize Hugh Laurie from his role as the henchman in the live-action version of 101 Dalmatians, or from his more recent role as Ryan Clark in the Max show Avenue 5. Regardless of the role Laurie plays, he knows how to give a memorable performance. From comedic roles to serious ones, all eyes are on Laurie when he is on the screen.

His role as Dr. Gregory House is no exception to that rule. In the show, Dr. Gregory House is described as an anti-social, pill-popping, sarcastic, but genius diagnostician. For those that don’t know, House’s medical speciality is diagnosing the medical conditions of a sick patient. In House, being a diagnostician amounts to high importance at the hospital, a status that he exploits quite often.

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Despite being born and raised in England, Laurie plays an American doctor. It was said that when one of the producers, Bryan Singer, cast Laurie for the role, he did not realize that Laurie was British as he spoke solely in an American accent. As part of transforming himself for the role, in addition to perfecting an American accent, Laurie also had to learn to walk with a constant limp. In the show, House suffers muscle loss in his leg that leaves him with a limp throughout the whole series, prompting his struggles with painkiller medications — Vicodin, specifically — that become a constant source of conflict.

Gregory House and Wilson Are Sherlock Holmes and Watson

Hugh Laurie was only one of the characters that made House such a memorable show. To contrast House’s cynicism, Dr. James Wilson was introduced. Dr. Wilson, played by Robert Sean Leonard, is House’s best friend and the Head of Oncology at the same hospital. Together, the two share an interesting friendship filled with pranks and laughs. Despite the pranks and schemes, House values Wilson’s friendship more than anyone else’s, even if he doesn’t outwardly show it.

Similar to Sherlock Holmes and Watson, House and Wilson provide many comedic scenes together. Between letting off roosters in the hospital, to taking a temporarily-awake coma patient to have his last meal, the pair’s antics often draw the frustrated attention of the Dean of Medicine, Dr. Lisa Cuddy (played by Lisa Edelstein). But they also often team together to solve some of House’s medical mysteries. More often than not, during a discussion with Wilson about an unrelated subject, House has one of his epiphanies that allows him to solve the case — after many failed attempts, of course.

Unique Storylines and an Incredible Cast

While most medical shows spend most of their hour-long runtime focusing on personal relationships, House is the opposite. Yes, there are a few relationships throughout the show, but they are not the main focus as the medical cases take precedence. In a medical show, it’s certainly nice when you can walk away from the show remembering the unique disease, with the addition of character development or continuing storylines being a terrific supplement for each case. What’s even nicer is that the medical cases covered throughout the show cast a net over a wide variety of diseases, all of which are hard to solve.

Together with his team, and occasionally Dr. Wilson, House must solve these medical mysteries and save the life of the patient. Part of what makes the cases so interesting is that there is often a good number of different diagnoses that could fit with the patient’s symptoms. Throughout each one of House’s best episodes, you get to watch the team try to solve the mystery by trial and error. The solution is never easy and takes the entire episode to solve, which keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat until they find out if the patient will live or not.

House isn’t a series that simply rests on its own laurels, either. Once this formula has run its course, season 4 introduces a dramatic shakeup that introduces a plethora of new cast members into the series. Dr. House continually digs himself deeper into the throes of his own addiction, and his blatant disregard for authority puts him in the crosshairs of just about anyone who presides over him. One season even sees House tackling his addiction head-on in a rehabilitation center, with his circle of relationships constantly in a state of flux all the while.

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House shares the camera with an impressive cast of other characters, with each one having their own defined motivations and unique perspectives on House’s various antics. For example, Robert Chase, played by Jesse Spencer, is the closest thing to an “apprentice” that House embraces on his team, though his interpersonal relationships and frustrations with his current position occasionally plague his work life. Another example is Eric Foreman, played by Omar Epps, who came from a troubled upbringing that shaped his personality as an adult. Foreman is the most level-headed and reasonable of House’s team, even if his race is often the subject of immature jokes from House.

When combining this cast of characters with the series’ numerous villains, including the humorlessly greedy mogul Vogler (Chi McBride) and the dedicated detective Tritter (David Morse), you have a series that carefully balances impeccable episodic storytelling with long-running character arcs.

Awards Won by House M.D.

Though medical dramas carry a certain stigma of what to expect, House was a particularly excellent series in more than one regard. Its expert blend of compelling mysteries and strong characters proved to be a hit with both general audiences and critics alike, which can be seen in its shocking number of award nominations. In total, House M.D. was nominated for:

• 25 Primetime Emmy Awards
• 9 Golden Globe Awards
• 4 Writers Guild of America Awards
• 12 NAACP Image Awards
• 7 Satellite Awards

A testament to his portrayal of the title character, Hugh Laurie would receive a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series at the Primetime Emmys in all but two seasons of House M.D. Despite his constant presence at the ceremony, Laurie never actually won an Emmy. Co-stars Omar Epps and Olivia Wilde, in addition to series writer and show-runner David Shore, would also rake in a bevy of awards.

A Perfect Series for Streaming

Similar to how other older TV shows saw brand-new life on streaming, including the ever-popular series Suits, House features several prominent qualities that justify its enduring popularity. Even going beyond what we’ve already mentioned before, including its appealing storytelling format and bombastic performances, House‘s biggest strength comes from its plentiful number of incredible episodes.

With a total of 177 episodes before being abruptly canceled in Season 8, House M.D. is a series that not only presents a compelling medical drama, but one that does so with the type of characterization and willingness to experiment that you don’t typically see in the genre. One season may shake up the entire status quo with a brand-new set of characters, whereas others are willing to experiment with unconventional narrative structures and deviations from the world of medicine. It’s more than just a schmaltzy medical drama. It’s a genuinely compelling drama series that manages to stay strong throughout its entire run, all while reinventing itself when the need arises.

Did you know that House M.D. had a spinoff series? If you’re curious to know more, check out our handy video explaining the spinoff series below: