House’s Biggest Gamble Risked Ruining The Show (But Actually Saved It)

House took a massive risk after the show’s strong start, and while this could have ruined the series, it ended up saving it. Although Hugh Laurie’s Gregory House was the heart and soul of the series, House would not have been the show it was without the supporting characters. House was always working with a team of subordinates, all of whom were impressive doctors but still had a lot to learn. The dynamic between House and his team made the series different from other medical dramas, with characters like Cameron, Foreman, and Chase becoming fan favorites.

The first three seasons of House saw the titular doctor mentoring Foreman, Chase, and Cameron as they worked together solving medical cases every week. This simple formula worked greatly, quickly making House into one of the best TV procedurals available at the time. However, by the end of season 3, House’s team had fallen apart. Chase was fired, Cameron quit after learning of Chase’s exit, and Foreman quit after realizing he and House perceived medicine too differently. Suddenly, House’s core team of characters was no more.

House Season 4 Introduced A New Team (Without Cameron & Chase)

House’s original team fell apart in season 3

House season 4 introduced the idea that Dr. House needed a new team following the events of season 3. With Chase, Cameron, and Foreman out, House had the opportunity to start a new team of doctors essentially from scratch, with only Foreman later returning to his previous position. Considering how things were never simple with Gregory House, he came up with a “reality show” to assemble a new team. House brought in multiple candidates, from promising young doctors to someone who did not even have a degree, and made them compete for a spot in the crew.

While House’s competition could have become repetitive very easily, it was surprisingly one of the most interesting portions of the whole show. Viewers got to spend time with brand new characters, not knowing which of them would become recurrent faces on the show. By the end of House’s competition, the team was now formed by Thirteen, Kutner, Taub, and Foreman. Only three seasons after the beginning of the show, House changed its main set of doctors almost entirely, a risky move considering how popular Cameron and Chase had become.

Why House Moved On From Cameron & Chase In Season 4

Cameron and Chase grew beyond House

Jennifer Morrison and Jesse Spencer continued to be part of House’s cast in season 4, which made Cameron and Chase’s exits from the team even stranger. However, even though House was not always medically accurate, the show still had to maintain some sense of realism. Cameron and Chase could only be part of House’s fellowship program for so long before it became implausible for them to still be in that stage of their careers. House’s original pupils needed to grow, so the show had to give Chase and Cameron different roles in season 4.

Foreman was also past the role of House’s pupil, yet his firing from another job made it so that he had to come back to Princeton–Plainsboro Teaching Hospital with his old salary. House continued to give Chase and Cameron important storylines, but their presence in the series was reduced significantly compared to the first three seasons. Foreman, who continued to work closely with House, had a bigger presence in season 4 onward than the other two members of the original team. Seeing less of Cameron and Chase was bittersweet, even though it made sense within the story

House’s New Team Helped The Show Reinvent Itself

House needed something new

Moving away from two of the show’s main characters after only three seasons was a very risky move, and it could have ruined House forever. Fortunately, introducing a new team not only helped House reinvent itself but also made the show better. House’s first three seasons were incredible, but the series was already starting to become repetitive by season 3. There was only so much drama and tension that could happen between the original team, meaning House needed to try something different. House’s search for new protegees shook things up, and the new characters were all great.

Thirteen, Taub, Kutner, and Amber – the last of whom never made it to the team but continued to be on the series – were major additions to House and changed the show forever. Some of them would continue to be on the show until its ending, whereas others would be involved in tragic storylines that massively impacted House. The moments in which House’s old pupils interacted with his new ones were also great, adding to the perception that House was moving forward rather than trying to replicate the first couple of seasons over and over.