Hugh Laurie has replied to a social media complaint that every episode of House follows the same narrative. The actor, who played Dr. Gregory House, offered a sarcastic defense of the show's structure.
The response came after a viewer named Janet posted that House has the same narrative every episode. Laurie wrote that the team tried episodes where the character gets the diagnosis right immediately, but those ran only six minutes and NBC was unhappy. They also tried versions where the patient dies, which the audience disliked. Laurie compared the series to other art forms that repeat a theme, including Bach's Goldberg Variations and Frida Kahlo's self-portraits. He added that if viewers see only hospital settings, the show may not be for them. House aired for eight seasons on Fox from 2004 to 2012. When another user questioned why he replied, Laurie said the topic was close to his heart.