House season 1
The first season of House premiered November 16, 2004, and ended May 24, 2005. The season follows Dr. Gregory House and his team as they solve a medical case each episode. The season's sub-plot revolves around billionaire Edward Vogler making a $100 million donation to the hospital. Through this donation, Vogler becomes the new chairman of the board and orders House to fire one of his team members. Vogler does this to show House he can control him: "I need to know that whatever I ask you to do, however distasteful you find it, you'll do it".
Chi McBride joined the cast as Vogler in five episodes of the season. 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 was not added. While there were possibilities of the character returning, he was generally disliked by viewers and critics and therefore not brought back to 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.
Cast and characters
Main cast
- Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House
- Lisa Edelstein as Dr. Lisa Cuddy
- Omar Epps as Dr. Eric Foreman
- Robert Sean Leonard as Dr. James Wilson
- Jennifer Morrison as Dr. Allison Cameron
- Jesse Spencer as Dr. Robert Chase
Recurring cast
- Chi McBride as Edward Vogler
- Sela Ward as Stacy Warner
- Stephanie Venditto as Nurse Brenda Previn
- Kenneth Choi as Dr. Lim
- Ron Perkins as Dr. Ron Simpson
- Currie Graham as Mark Warner
- Maurice Godin as Dr. Lawrence Hourani
Guest cast
Reception
Season one gained high Nielsen ratings, averaging 13.3 million viewers an episode. It was the 24th most-watched television show of the 2004–2005 television season.Hugh Laurie submitted the episode "Detox" for consideration at the 57th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2005. This resulted in his first Emmy Award nomination, for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Dr. Gregory House.