Hugh Laurie responds to criticism of 'House'

Hugh Laurie, the lead star of "House," has responded to criticism about the popular medical drama.

On X, the actor replied to journalist Janet Murray who posted about the repetitive formula of "House" episodes.

"We actually tried a couple of episodes where House (Hugh Laurie) (please put the brackets in the right place) gets it right first time, but they were only six minutes long. NBC weren't happy. Then we tried some where House never gets it right and the patient dies. The audience wasn't happy," Hugh said.

Hugh added that Janet's "trenchant analysis" could be applied to other art forms, such as how JS Bach wrote 30 Goldberg variations on the same chord structure and Frida Kahlo painted 50 portraits of herself.

"The point is, or was, variations on a theme; if all you see is hospital, medical blah blah, then it wasn't meant for you," Hugh said. "Nonetheless, I look forward to your first novel!"

In her post, Janet said she just started watching the first season of "House" and observed that each episode has the same narrative. She said a patient gets a mysterious illness, with House getting the diagnosis wrong and gets threatened with being fired.

"Hugh Laurie has last minute leftfield idea. Gets diagnosis right. Doesn't get fired. Eight seasons of this?" she said on X.

"House" is an American medical drama series that aired for eight seasons from 2004 to 2012.

The series follows Dr. Gregory House who leads a diagnostic team. He became known in the hospital for his controversial way of diagnosing patients.

"House" is streaming on Netflix and HBO Max.

Thanks for your critique, Janet. We actually tried a couple of episodes where House (Hugh Laurie) (please put the brackets in the right place) gets it right first time, but they were only 6 minutes long. NBC weren’t happy. Then we tried some where House never gets it right and…

— Hugh Laurie (@hughlaurie) June 7, 2026

—Nika Roque/MGP, GMA News