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House (also known as House M.D.) is an American medical drama series that premiered on Fox on November 16, 2004, and is created by David Shore. The show revolves around Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), a maverick medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians; Dr. Allison Cameron (Jennifer Morrison), Dr. Robert Chase (Jesse Spencer) and Dr. Eric Foreman (Omar Epps), at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital (PPTH) in New Jersey, in each episode they are presented with an unusual case. House frequently clashes with his boss Dr. Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein), and his only friend, Dr. James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard).

Each season introduces a recurring guest star, who appears in a multi-episode story arc. The fourth season being the only exception, as it introduced seven new characters who were applying for the jobs of Cameron, Chase and Foreman, who left as House's team during the third season finale "Human Error". House eventually hired Dr. Chris Taub (Peter Jacobson), Dr. Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn) and Dr. Remy "Thirteen" Hadley (Olivia Wilde) as his new team.

The show has gained high ratings and critical acclaim since its premiere. Five seasons have aired in the united states, the fourth of which was interrupted by the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike and therefore contained sixteen episodes instead of the regular 24. FOX has renewed the show for a sixth season, which will premiere in the fall of 2009.

In the following list, the term "Episode #" refers to the episode's number in each particular season, the episode's number in the season is followed by the episode number in the series overall in parentheses. "American viewers in millions" refers to the number of Americans in millions who watched the episode live. However, for season four and future seasons these numbers also include Americans who recorded the episode and watched it within seven days of broadcast.

Season 1: 2004–2005
The first season of House premiered November 16, 2004, and ended May 25, 2005. The season followed House and his team as they solve a medical case each episode, the season's sub-plot revolved around billionaire Edward Vogler making a $100 million donation to the hospital. Through this donation, Vogler became the new chairman of the board of PPTH, however, seeing House and his team as a waste of time and resources, he decreases their payment, eventually forcing House to fire one of his team members.

Chi McBride joined the cast as Vogler in five episodes of the show. His character was brought in after Universal Studios president Jeff Zucker threatened that the season would be cut short by six episodes if a boss-character would not be added. While there were possibilities of the character returning, he was generally disliked by viewers and critics and therefore not brought back into the show. Sela Ward, who would return as the main recurring character of season two, appeared in the final two episodes as Stacy Warner, House's former girlfriend. Season one gained high nielsen ratings, averaging 13.3 million viewers an episode. It was 24th most-watched television show of the 2004–2005 television season.

Season 2: 2005–2006
Season two premiered on September 13, 2005 and ended on May 23, 2006. During the season, House tries to cope with his feelings for his ex-girlfriend Stacy Warner, who, after House diagnosed her husband with Acute intermittent porphyria, has taken a job in the legal department of the PPTH. Throughout each episode House diagnoses a patient; in the season finale "No Reason", House gets shot by the husband of a woman he once treated.

Sela Ward's chemistry with Laurie in the final two episodes of season one was strong enough to have her character return in seven episodes of the second season. The season gained high nielsen ratings, "No Reason" was watched by 25.47 viewers, the show's biggest audience ever. Season two averaged 17.3 million viewers an episode, outperforming season one by 30%. Its amount of viewers made it the 10th most-watched show of the 2005–2006 television season.

Season 3: 2006–2007
House's third season ran from September 5, 2006 to May 29, 2007. Early in the season, House temporarily regains the use of his leg, due to Ketamine treatment, after he was shot in the season two finale. Later in the season, he leaves a stubborn patient in an exam room with a thermometer in his rectum. Because House is unwilling to apologize, the patient, police detective Michael Tritter, starts an investigation to uncover House's vicodin addiction. The third season concluded with a cliffhanger finale, in which House fires Chase and Foreman and Cameron both resign, leaving House without a team for the fourth season.

David Morse joined the cast for six episodes as Tritter. He was cast for the role after having previously worked with House's creator David Shore on CBS' Hack. Season three's most-viewed episode was "Insensitive", which was watched by almost 26 million viewers. An average 19.4 million viewers watched season three of House, making it the 7th most-watched show of the 2006–2007 television season.

Season 4: 2007–2008
The fourth season of House premiered on September 25, 2007 and ended May 19, 2008. Having previously fired his medical team, House starts a competition between forty applicants for the jobs of Chase, Cameron and Foreman. He eventually narrows them down to seven, firing one each episode. In the episode "Games", he fires Amber "Cutthroat Bitch" Volakis (Anne Dudek), hiring Dr. Chris Taub (Peter Jacobson), Dr. Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn) and Dr. Remy "Thirteen" Hadley (Olivia Wilde) as his new team. Dr. Foreman rejoins the team after his dismissal from another hospital. Meanwhile, Amber begins a relationship with Wilson.

Interrupted by 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, the number of episodes was reduced to 16 episodes instead of the normal 24. Executive producer Katie Jacobs explained that it was hard for the writers to finish the story arcs started during the season with eight episodes less. Season four also introduced seven actors to the cast; in addition to Jacobson, Penn and Wilde, who became regulars, Andy Comeau portrayed Travis Brennan, an epidemiologist; Edi Gathegi played Jeffrey Cole, a geneticist; Carmen Argenziano appeared as Henry Dobson, a former medical school admissions officer; and Anne Dudek portrayed Amber "Cut-throat Bitch" Volakis, an interventional radiologist. Each of the four departed the show after elimination, except for Volakis, who remained recurring until the finale, having started a relationship with Wilson.

Season 5: 2008–2009
House's fifth season began airing on September 16, 2008. It began to air in a new timeslot from September to December: Tuesday 8/7c. Starting January 19, 2009, House has been moved to Mondays at 8/7c.

Season 6: 2009–2010
House's sixth season will premiere in the fall of 2009.