The writers’ strike may be wrapping up sooner than we feared. No guarantees, of course, but this is the official statement sent out this afternoon. (keep your fingers crossed…)

STATEMENT REGARDING AMPTP WGA NEGOTIATIONS

LOS ANGELES, November 29, 2007 – “The AMPTP today unveiled a New Economic Partnership to the WGA, which includes groundbreaking moves in several areas of new media, including streaming, content made for new media and programming delivered over digital broadcast channels. The entire value of the New Economic Partnership will deliver more than $130 million in additional compensation above and beyond the more than $1.3 billion writers already receive each year. In response, the WGA has asked for time to study the proposals. While we strongly preferred to continue discussions, we respect and understand the WGA’s desire to review the proposals. We look forward resuming talks on Tuesday, December 4.

We continue to believe that there is common ground to be found between the two sides, and that our proposal for a New Economic Partnership offers the best chance to find it.”

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Michael Ausiello at TVGuide.com interviewed House Executive Producer, Katie Jacobs, about the final decision for House’s team. Here’s an excerpt, but I know you’ll want to go read the entire interview.

Why’d you cut the Cutthroat Bitch! I loved her!
Katie Jacobs: I can tell you that it was a phenomenally difficult decision. When we decided to go in this [Survivor-like] direction this season, [fellow exec producer] David Shore and I never anticipated that we’d fall in love with as many of the characters as we did — and [Cutthroat Bitch] was certainly one of those. But I would say that, if you want to see more of her, so do we. And I think that that might happen. She’s terrific, and she adds a really great color to the group. I’m looking forward to finding a way that she could come back into the fold.

(follow the jump for more)
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FOX actually sent out a press release today with the bios for the new team on House.

House’s Diagnostic Medicine team:

• Dr. Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn) – His specialty is rehabilitative and sports medicine. He is the most enthusiastic of all the potential fellows, but his enthusiasm could be dangerous. A radical thinker, he is the only one who doesn’t think House’s crazy moves aren’t crazy enough.
• Dr. Chris Taub (Peter Jacobson) – His specialty is plastic surgery. He is both shallow and inciteful. Taub left a successful practice for unknown reasons, which only made House more determined to figure out why.
• Thirteen (Olivia Wilde) – Her specialty is internal medicine. She’s a competent young doctor who plays her cards extremely close to the vest. She is an enigma wrapped in a riddle – and House loves a good mystery.
• Dr. Eric Foreman (Omar Epps) – Neurologist who quit at the end of last season because he didn’t want to end up like Dr. House. But after he’s fired from his next job and no other hospital will hire him because of his “House-like” reputation, Hospital Administrator Dr. Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) placed him back on the diagnostic team to watch over the brilliant but unpredictable House.

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We finally got to see who the final team will be.

The show began with a washed-up punk rocker coughing up blood and collapsing just before going on stage.

In the doctors’ lounge, Cuddy walked in to find House eating popcorn and watching soaps on TV. She pressed him to make a decision about which three to hire.

Cuddy: I want two names by Friday.
House: I’ll arrange for a person with a mysterious illness to come in on Thursday.
Cuddy: Yes. You need more tests. It’s been two months. Who knows how they’ll react to freak weather patterns?
House: They all did fine in the wind tunnel.
Cuddy: Two names by Friday or the pay overruns come out of your salary and I move your parking space to the “E” lot.

House went to see Cameron in the ER to see if she had any good prospective patients for him. She introduced him to the punk rocker.

House: Wrap him up. I’ll take him to go.

(follow the jump for the rest!)
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Kal Penn’s hometown news site, NorthJersey.com has just run this interview with Kal Penn. Here’s the important excerpt for tonight’s episode:

(Follow the jump for the spoiler!!)
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Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune published this article about House season 4 and the final four doclings. There are even video interviews with Peter Jacobson, Kal Penn, Olivia Wilde & Anne Dudek. Be sure to go watch the interview vids. Here’s a tiny excerpt:

I don’t miss the old-school “House” team much. I do enjoy House’s barbed interplay with Dr. Foreman (Omar Epps), and the show has wisely brought him back to police the “Survivor”-like competition House has been having to fill the spots on his team. House always works best with an intelligent foil, and Foreman is so much like House that he’s good at ferreting out the cranky, sneaky doctor’s true motivations.

Thanks so much to Grace for the tip!

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Today, Michael Ausiello updated the list of shows affected by the Writers’ Strike. Here’s the news about House in particular:

House: Twelve episodes will be produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are four left.

Here’s the entire list, in case you have other shows you want to find out about.

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One of the columnists at TV Guide, Matt Roush, answered this question about House season 4:

Question: I have been loving the shake-up on House and the way that it has reinvigorated the show. The interactions between House and his team were getting so predictable last season; even the cases were getting old. The addition of new team members (particularly the ones who have stuck around), with their unique skill sets and personalities, have brought new interest to the medical storylines. Yet the spoilers make it sound like things will eventually go back to the way they were before. Phooey on that, I say! Let Foreman and House continue to be collaborating/bickering colleagues, Cameron a thorn-in-his-side/potential love interest (which they clearly want to do anyway) and Chase… just a presence in the background, I guess. Let the remaining fellows be the new team. What do you think?— Liz V.
Matt Roush: Not being a spoiler fiend, I’m not sure how the storylines in the back half of the season will play out — if in fact there is a second half of the season. As you will notice, I’m keeping strike talk and speculation to a minimum in this week’s column, out of deference to the encouraging news that talks are resuming today between the writers’ and studios’ representatives. Beginning of the end of the strike? Let’s hope. Back to House: I’ve also enjoyed the season so far and appreciate the producers’ efforts to shake things up and refresh the franchise while never losing sight of why we tune in to begin with. At the same time, watching House’s former colleagues be so marginalized has felt like a waste. I’m hoping as the show continues to evolve, with House’s new and old teams colliding — how and when and if this will happen, I’m just as happy not to know for now — that the writers will continue to explore the new dynamics and not let things fall back so rigidly to the old formula.

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House fans, tomorrow night we find out! We’ll finally get to see House choose the final three to be part of his new team. Here’s the press release from FOX:

More than 30 doctors applied for the coveted fellowship positions with the irascible but brilliant Dr. House (Hugh Laurie), but only four remain in the competition with ever-changing rules and House pulling all the strings. Who will House choose to be part of his diagnostic team at Princeton-Plainsboro and who will be discharged – leaving the hospital disappointed and empty-handed?

A quick recap of the remaining candidates:

(follow the jump for the rest)
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Hugh Laurie has apparently taken up boxing for fitness. Here are some photos of him at the gym today.

(click on the thumbnails to see the hi-res versions – lots more after the jump)
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