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What Does That Shocking House Death Mean For the Show?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:30:25 -0700

As I mentioned in today's rundown, Kal Penn has decided to trade House for the White House. Today, the actor-turned-political outreach liaison and his former bosses, House executive producers David Shore and Katie Jacobs, hopped on the phone to talk about Penn's decision, Kutner's death, and what it all means for the show going forward. Here are some key things to know:

Penn's interest in politics is nothing new. "Growing up, I always had two passions, one being public service and the other being the arts and acting," said Penn, who described himself as "formerly a very cynical independent" (now less cynical, but still an independent). During President Obama's campaign, he worked on outreach for young voters, Asian Americans, and the arts, and he'll now be doing something similar in an official capacity.
He was surprised to hear about Kutner's suicide, too. "I loved playing Kutner, and there was more than a little bit of shock and loss when I found that out," he said. And he said he liked the mystery with which his character went out: "People did feel types of loss and anger and confusion about [Kutner]," he said. "I don't think you would have gotten that same feeling if it had been a very Kutner-heavy episode where you see his trials and tribulations. . . . I asked if there was anything in his background that might have indicated [he'd be suicidal] or any warning signs. The answer generally was no. It's kind of tough [as an actor] to know that he was obviously tormented by something but didn't share it with anyone."
Kutner's death will have a lasting impact: "It'll resonate at least through the end of the season," Shore said. "It's a question House can't answer, and he has an answer for everything. That's what was really exciting, the unexpected nature of it."
The element of mystery was key to Kutner's exit: "Had we seen some major dilemma in his personal life, we couldn't have done this story the way we did," Shore said. "If he'd just broken up with a girlfriend, even though the answer would have been much more complicated than that, that would have been something that somebody could just hang on to."

For which characters will have a significant reaction to Kutner's death, just read more.

Cameron and Chase's reaction will be in the spotlight: "We are gonna see, perhaps surprisingly, more of Cameron and Chase's reaction to it - and of course House's reaction and Wilson's reaction," Shore said. Ultimately, though, the producers said House will have the hardest time coping: "He has no resources," Jacobs said. "He has no family to go home to."
We'll probably never know what made Kutner do it: "Something went on in that man's head, but it went on in that man's head, and that is ultimately unknowable," Shore said. "Knowing that and accepting that is a more interesting issue than trying to put a little pin in the answer."
As for Penn, he's not retiring from acting for good. "I'm not packing up and saying I'm leaving Hollywood and all this sort of stuff," he said. "I'm just pursuing another passion right now." He plans to spend at least a year or two in Washington, and he'll be on a total break from acting during that time - which, he acknowledged, probably means no more Harold and Kumar sequels.

Photo courtesy of Fox

House Scoop, Straight From the Source

BuzzSugar — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:30:15 -0800

Between the House/Cuddy kiss, the train wreck that is Thirteen, and the rekindling of the House/Wilson bromance, things are really getting good on House these days. The show has some big things planned for sweeps and beyond, and executive producer Katie Jacobs kindly hopped on a conference call with reporters last week to help sort out some of the things to come. Here are some highlights of what she shared:

On the "unorthodox" love affair of House and Cuddy: "You’re right to say "unorthodox," and at the same time, I think it’s probably more real than any other love relationship on TV insofar as relationships are complicated. House and Cuddy work together. There’s obvious chemistry; there’s obvious respect, but there’s barbs, and there’s jousting. It is unorthodox and, at the very same time, incredibly real."
On how their story will unfold: "I don't think that it will go on in a predictable, 'OK, now everything is shifting, and this is the story' kind of way. Hopefully, we explore it in a very House-ian way, which is, it's there, and now, what do we do? But, don't expect to see dates and they go to the movies. It's not going to unfold like that."
On the chemistry between House and Cuddy, House and Cameron, and more: "I certainly hope we go for as much chemistry as possible. I think what it is, is House, as a character, has a hole, has an emptiness. What most of these women want to do is somehow see if they can ease his pain because everybody knows on the inside, or they think on the inside, that there’s a lot of pain and if they can somehow be the one to make House smooth out those rough edges, wouldn’t it be sweet? It's mostly going to be up to House. He could have a relationship with any one of them, but he's got to be in the mind space and be at a place where he's ready to make himself vulnerable. I don't see him as being at that place entirely at the moment. At times, we’ve seen glimpses of his getting closer."

For more from Jacobs (including some hints about upcoming plotlines - consider yourself warned), just read more.

On the upcoming storyline in which a patient takes the hospital hostage: "What we were interested in tapping into is the frustration that many of us feel when we go in to see a doctor or a hospital, and we’re not diagnosed, when they simply don't know what’s wrong. This patient had been to 16 hospitals and has been through every imaginable test and he feels that there is a certain indignity, and he’s not being seen, and yet, at the same time, he's lost everything - because, also, people with illnesses know, you miss a certain amount of work because you're not feeling well, or you're not able to carry on even the closest of relationships, so you can lose your life to this illness. That’s what we're more interested in, is patients' frustration and their need to be seen."

On giving all the characters screen time: "It is hard, and yet, I always find it satisfying when we're able to do it, because what I love about what David Shore has created is, every character, I feel, has their specific point of view on the topic of conversation that we're exploring that week. So, it's hard to do, but very satisfying when we get to hear the different voices and different opinions - Kutner, Taub, Cameron, Chase - they all have different slants. The hostage episode that's coming up reveals that, how they all feel about what House is doing inside while trying to get the gun away from the guy and treating the guy."
On Thirteen's struggles: "She's kind of at a spirally place, kind of lost all hope, and feels like since she's been diagnosed with Huntington's, and we know that to be a terminal illness, and she watched her mother die from Huntington's, she's kind of given up. It's one of the stories that is in "Last Resort" - the hostage-taker, played by Zeljko Ivanek, decides that every drug that Dr. House is going to try on him to see what’s wrong with him, he's going to make somebody else take it first. That person has to take all the drugs to see how they interact together. Thirteen, as part of her spiral, volunteers for this. She thinks there's no better candidate, since she's sick anyway, to take all of these drugs. By the end of the hostage episode, she's going to come to a very interesting, different place than we’ve seen her before, having gone to the very edge in this episode."
On the future of the PI character: "We really liked having him. He fits in well, I think, in our show. We really liked playing to him, but right now, he's not in any more episodes. But I wouldn’t rule out completely him coming back."

Photos courtesy of Fox

Buzz News Roundup, 6/9

BuzzSugar — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:32:17 -0700

FX has canceled Courteney Cox's tabloid drama Dirt, TV Guide reports.
The Weinsteins have acquired the rights to adapt Allison Winn Scotch's novel Time of My Life for the big screen, writes ComingSoon.
Meanwhile, Variety has the news that House executive producer Katie Jacobs has nabbed the rights to the New York Times bestseller Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon - And the Journey of a Generation.
Amber Tamblyn has taken the lead in an ABC drama pilot called The Unusuals, about the crazy characters at a New York police precinct, Zap2it reports.
If you want AC/DC's new album, you'll have to go to Wal-Mart to get it, Billboard reports.
Despite declining ratings, TV networks are actually bringing in more money from advertisers after this year's upfronts, writes the Hollywood Reporter.
The Chicago Tribune finally found a premiere date for the final season of The Shield: Sept. 2.
According to Variety, David Schwimmer will head to Chicago to star in a stage production of Our Town.

Photo courtesy of FX

The "House" Crew Spills the Beans on Season Four

BuzzSugar — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 04:33:00 -0700

When the "House" cast members weren't enjoying the rides at the Santa Monica Pier this week - yes, that's Hugh Laurie in a bumper car in that photo on the right - they were dishing details left and right about the upcoming fourth season of the show. The actors, along with executive producer Katie Jacobs, spent their panel at the TCA press tour dribbling out information about who's leaving, who's changing, and who's coming back to Princeton-Plainsboro. They addressed the season finale's big cliffhanger and the addition of five new doctors - among other goodies. There's great stuff here, but beware of spoilers ahead if you read more

"Everybody is back eventually," Jacobs said early in the panel. That was pretty obvious from the fact that Omar Epps, Jesse Spencer and Jennifer Morrison all were on the stage, but it was nice to have it confirmed.
In the first episode, House will be trying to solve cases by himself. Cuddy will insist that House hire a new team, and eventually he relents and calls the 40 people whose resumes have piled up on his desk. Jacobs jokingly called it the show's version of "Survivor" and said House will give them running bibs and refer to them only by number - which explains why Olivia Wilde's character is named Thirteen.
The supporting cast found out they'd all be leaving when the producers asked to talk to them over lunch one day. It was "a little bit like being called into the principal's office," Morrisson recalled.
When the new season begins, Chase will be working at a hospital in Arizona, and Cameron will be with him. Foreman, meanwhile, will be running his own diagnostic department at Mercy Hospital.
"I don't know if things ever will be the same," Spencer said, "because I'm going to be moving into a different area, and Jen is as well. The team is going to be different. And that's going to change the energy and the chemistry of the entire show. It kind of feels like we've got a new show."
Laurie said the first three scripts of the season "are not only three of the best 'House' scripts I've ever read, they're three of the best scripts I've ever read."
The five new actors each have deals that could potentially turn them into series regulars. They make their first appearance in the second episode of the season, and Jacobs threw out a few more details about some of them: Kal Penn will play a young doctor who has a cool procedure but doesn't necessarily know all the steps to getting there; Peter Jacobson's character is a plastic surgeon who's leaving plastics for a chance to work with House.
Jacobs somewhat jokingly said she "may commit to a beautiful make-out scene for Cuddy."
The post-Super Bowl episode will be a two-parter, and Jacobs said she doesn't think the show will do "anything wacky" to grab ratings.

So? Discuss!

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