[Photo: Newscom.com]

When last we saw Dr. House, he was sadly entering a mental hospital, presumably to check himself in for rehab. At the Paley Center this week, the cast and producers for House gave us some info about what to expect for the show in season 6. Sadly, since I could not be there, I have to rely on other members of the press for the news.

According to Zap2It, Andre Braugher has been cast to play House’s doctor in the mental hospital. He was fantastic as the doctor on the series Gideon’s Crossing. (I loved that show!) He played a rather gruff, but extremely brilliant doc on that series and I feel very confident that he can be a serious factor in Dr. Greg House’s recovery. Great casting!!

The faceoff between Dr. House and his psych doctor will happen in the two-hour season premiere on September 21.

Series creator David Shore calls the premiere “more like a movie,” and word is the episode will take place almost entirely inside the mental facility.

[Hugh] Laurie, for his part, says he’s psyched to work with Braugher. “I have admired him as one of the greatest actors there is.”

Now I’m even more excited about the new season!!

[Photo: © 2009 FOX Broadcasting Co.]

Fans of House that live in New Jersey may know about a location where House filmed this week. It’s an old, abandoned mental hospital there called Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Parsippany, NJ. The House crew was there yesterday to film lots of background scenes and other B-roll for use in the series during season 6. So when the season 6 episodes begin, NJ viewers will need to keep an eye open for the local shots. How cool!

That tells me that Wilson’s brother will play into things next season. We’ve been introduced to the idea of Wilson’s schizophrenic, formerly homeless brother who is now in a mental hospital, but it looks like we’ll get to see it more next season.

Or, there is an even more fascinating possibility too. Since we’ve been told that House himself is headed for a breakdown, will it be him that’s a patient in the hospital…? Here’s an excerpt from the article on the local New Jersey news web site:

Shoot Information:
The massive old Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital is “open” for business again, and its top doctor may be Hugh Laurie, star of TV’s “House.”

Crews from the popular Fox TV show spent today re-making the abandoned state hospital in Parsippany into the fictional Mayfield Psychiatric Hospital. They are expected to shoot some background scenes for next year’s episodes of the popular series Wednesday morning.

Officials from Universal Studios were tight-lipped about their plans at Greystone and whether any stars of the show might be on hand today. They said the set would be closed to the public. Police also said the road leading to the hospital would be temporarily closed.

Steve Gorelick, executive director of the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission, also had little to say about the show’s filming today.

What do you think this means for the show? I’d love to hear your thoughts!!!

I just got off the phone from a conference call interview with Kal Penn who played Dr. Laurence Kutner and Executive Producers for House, Katie Jacobs and David Shore. They talked for over an hour and answered so many questions about Kutner’s suicide and Kal Penn’s new opportunity. I will have the entire interview for you as quickly as possible, but I wanted to give you a few of the highlights right away because I know you want answers.

First of all, it’s a sad occasion because a beloved character on our favorite show, House, has committed suicide and will no longer be a part of the show.

But secondly, and even more importantly, it was the way the producers chose to have Kal Penn’s character leave after he gave them the wonderful news that he will be taking a position working for the Obama administration in Washington D.C.

Kal Is very excited to let us all know that he found out in December that he will be joining the Office of the Public Liaison for the White House. He had worked diligently during the Obama campaign and had approached Barack Obama about his desire to be a part of the new administration. He was apparently chosen because of his qualifications, and not because of his celebrity.

Kal is very excited and eager to start his new position in Washington as soon as possible. He’ll be moving to Washington and will have to deal with the same horrible real estate market we all deal with when deciding what to do with his house in Los Angeles, but he feels it is more than worth it.

I want to say first and foremost to him:

And now on with the House-related information I know you are looking for. David Shore was adamant about the fact that the decision to have a character leave would not have happened if Kal had not announced he was leaving to take the new opportunity. There were no budget constraints involved, and we would not have lost a character otherwise.

Katie Jacobs & David Shore told us that now that the tragedy has unfolded, we will see each of the characters on the show react in their own different way, much like the way people react to such an event in real life.

Katie explained that the web site memoriam for Kutner was done so people could have a place to share their thoughts and to know that the event was not planned lightly.

She also wants people to know that suicide is a medical illness and needs to be treated as one. The information about the National Alliance for Mental Illness and the suicide prevention hotline were given in hopes of perhaps preventing anyone in the audience from contemplating suicide themselves.

Now that this has happened, Katie said numerous times that “Kutner is irreplaceable.” They will not be bringing in a new team member to replace him. We will also be seeing Cameron & Chase move more to the forefront on the show. That’s good news for Cameron & Chase fans.

Kal said that he knew of the plans to have Kutner commit a totally unexpected suicide only since the work on the 17th episode this season and had to keep it to himself since then.

David & Katie said that they considered many possible ways that Kutner could leave the show, but that this was the way that would have the most impact on House. He’s the man with all the answers and he does not have any answers about this.

By the way, David Shore was very clear that there was no foreshadowing on the show. There were no hidden clues and anyone who tries to read them into the previous episodes will only be doing what House has done, try to get answers that aren’t there.

Again, I will finish the full episode recap for you as quickly as I can today, and will have the interview posted in its entirety for you as soon as I can.

I have to admit that I feel much less bitter this morning after finding all of this out. I actually didn’t sleep well last night because of the episode.

Stay tuned. There’s still much more information unfolding today and I’ll do my best to get it for you. WOW! What a surprise this all is!!

[Photo: © 2009 FOX Broadcasting Co.]

I am stunned and sad to report to you that in tonight’s episode of House, Dr. Kutner committed suicide. I was shocked because I thought it was going to be Taub. I was stunned because I thought there might actually be a moment or two to prepare us for it, but there wasn’t. And I’m extremely sad because I really liked Kutner and I like Kal Penn as an actor. What an upsetting development!!

I will have a full episode recap for you in the morning, along with a full post about Kutner and his character leaving the show. But I had to put something out right away, just so I could let you know….

How sad. How very, very sad…

At the beginning of season 4 of House, the official FOX web site had the names of the finalists for House’s team on the site. At that time, they showed Olivia Wilde’s character’s name as “Remy Hadley.”

After the cast started to call her Thirteen, they took her character’s real name off the site and let her go by Thirteen for the rest of the season. The only hint at her real name was when Cuddy called her Dr. Hadley.

Now, her identity has been put back on the FOX site, but now it is a bit different than before. See what I mean:

[Photo: ©2008 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Joseph Viles/FOX]

What are your thoughts about Thirteen’s new identity?

Here is the most wonderful gift for any House fan! If they (or you!) don’t have any of the seasons of House on DVD yet, this 4 season boxed set would bring them totally up to date!! It will be released on DVD on August 19, but you can pre-order it now.

Why just buy one season, when you could have them all? And it will keep any House fan busy until season 5 kicks in.

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Image details: Listening Party For Paramount’s "The Last Kiss" - Arrivals served by picapp.com

According to Watch With Kristen, this season on House Cuddy will have a new romantic admirer. Actor Michael Weston (formerly from Six Feet Under) will play a private investigator with a serious Cuddy-crush. This character will reportedly be part of a multi-episode story arc and may even get his own spin-off.

So do you think that House will be jealous of the new attention that Cuddy receives? Do you think he’ll try to get rid of the new competition, or declare his feelings for her? What are your thoughts?

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I will let you know when you can pre-order a copy, but until then, here’s the cover artwork and the listing of what features we can expect to see in the season 4 House DVD.

Special Features

• Commentaries with Cast and Crew
• 5 featurettes
• New Beginnings
• Meet the Writers
• The Visual Effects
• Anatomy of a Crash
• My Favourite Season 4 Episode
• Gag Reel
• Season 5 Sneek Peek

[Image: courtesy of amazon.com]

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TV Guide’s Michael Ausiello had a couple of spoilers for us this week in his Ask Ausiello column. He gives us a bit of information about a revelation for Thirteen this week. and He also teases us a bit about the possibility of a House spin-off that may be in the works!! If you like spoilers, be sure to click on “Read More” for the scoop!!

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Here’s the latest news issued by FOX:

“HOUSE’S” RECORD-SETTING POST-SUPER BOWL EPISODE “FROZEN” TO ENCORE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15

FOX will air an encore of the record-setting HOUSE episode “Frozen,” which originally aired following the Super Bowl, on Friday, Feb. 15 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). In addition, HOUSE encores will continue airing Fridays (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) through April 18.

Sunday night’s HOUSE was the show’s highest rated episode ever across all demos and the highest rated scripted program on any network in two years among Adults 18-49 and Total Viewers. Additionally, the episode was FOX’s highest rated scripted series telecast in over 10 years in Adults 18-49 as well as in 11 years in Total Viewers.

“Frozen” features guest star Mira Sorvino as a psychiatrist trapped at the South Pole who must rely on Dr. House to diagnose and treat her deadly illness via webcam. [Source: FOX]

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