Posted in: Fox, TV | Tagged: house

House Star Hugh Laurie Apologizes For Any Grief His Tweet Caused

House star Hugh Laurie returned to social media to apologize for any grief that his response to a critic of Season 1 may have caused.

Published Mon, 08 Jun 2026 17:04:09 -0500

by Ray Flook

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Article Summary

House star Hugh Laurie fired back after a viewer slammed Season 1 as repetitive, reigniting debate over the hit medical drama.
Laurie joked that House episodes where he solved the case immediately were too short, defending the show’s formula and writers.
He compared House’s variations on a theme to Bach, Frida Kahlo, and Henry Moore, arguing the series wasn’t for every viewer.
Hugh Laurie later apologized, admitting he was slightly drunk and upset, while the critic said there were ultimately no hard feelings.

So here's what happened. Over the weekend, an individual shared their thoughts on the first season of FOX's Hugh Laurie-starring long-running medical drama House on social media – and let's just say that it didn't sound like they were impressed. "Late to the party, but I've started watching Season 1 of House. Same narrative every episode: Patient has mysterious illness; Hugh Laurie (House) gets diagnosis wrong; Patient nearly dies; Hugh Laurie gets diagnosis wrong again; Gets threatened with being fired; Patient nearly dies again; Hugh Laurie has last minute leftfield idea; Gets diagnosis right; Doesn't get fired; Eight seasons of this?" the individual wrote. Well, it seems that Laurie caught wind of it, and had some thoughts of his own.

"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 the patient dies. The audience wasn't happy," Laurie responded online. "One could apply your trenchant analysis to other art forms: JS Bach wrote 30 Goldberg variations on the same chord structure; Frida Kahlo painted 50 portraits of herself; Henry Moore, what?? 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. Nonetheless, I look forward to your first novel!"

Well, it didn't take long for a whole lot of folks in entertainment news (us included) to jump on the story. We like it because it proved that sometimes, the people you criticize on social media will answer back – no one has freedom from response. But it seems the exchange didn't sit right with Laurie, who reached out to offer an apology and explanation. "I'm sorry if people have been having a go at you because of my tweet. Not at all the plan. I was very slightly drunk and already upset about something that had nothing to do with you. If it's any comfort, I got it in the neck too. I'm a thin-skinned twat, apparently, even though it wasn't my skin. I was sticking up for the writers who I adored. Obviously I shouldn't have cited Bach/Kahlo/Moore – asking for trouble – and would have done better to go for the 10,000 blues songs written around the same 12 bar chord structure. I've listened to most of them and will keep doing so. Because we love what we love."

"Thank you. 'Having a go' is probably an understatement 🫣 but I appreciate the apology and recognise you may have been sticking up for colleagues," the individual responded. "For what it's worth, I like the show – despite the repetition – and I like you in it. The response to my initial post was so warm-hearted and affectionate towards House, which perhaps made what followed all the more surprising. Anyway, no hard feelings. I'm hoping you'll be back for another series ofTehran."

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