Fans of House were left rather surprised by the sudden departure from the show of Lisa Edelstein who played the role of both boss and love interest to Hugh Laurie’s Dr. House. While writers scramble to remove Cuddy from the storyline, producers have had to wrestle with the question of who will replace her. Today TVLine reported that it will in fact be someone viewers already know.
Although it hasn’t been revealed who will be getting the big job at Princeton Plainsboro, it will be one of seven possibilities. It could be a current cast member, even one of House’s team, or it could be someone who appeared on the show in the past returning to have the last laugh. The names mentioned as the possibilities are:
Dr. James Wilson, played by Robert Sean Leonard, Dr. House’s long-suffering best friend. Dr. Eric Foreman, played by Omar Epps, an original member of House’s team who once actually was his boss for a brief time. Dr. Robert Chase, played by Jesse Spencer, another original team member with questionable ethics. Dr. Chris Taub, played by Peter Jacobsen, who managed to make the cut when House decided to make hiring a new team member into a strange competition. Dr. Jeffrey Cole, played by Edi Gathegi, who was another contestant in the hiring competition but was cut for siding with Cuddy. Dr. Sam Carr, played by Cynthia Watros, ex-wife to Dr. James Wilson and not exactly a favorite person of Dr. House. And finally, Edward Vogler, played by Chi McBride, whose brief stint as the man in charge at Princeton Plainsboro left some serious bad blood between him and Dr. House.
So there you have it – one of these people will be stepping into Cuddy’s shoes as Dean of Medicine at Princeton Plainsboro this fall. Will it be Wilson, who is a pushover for Dr. House’s schemes, perhaps ready to actually grow a backbone? One of House’s own team? Or one of the many enemies left in House’s wake over the years? Judging from the number of men in the list of options, it seems a safe bet it won’t be Cuddy’s high-heeled shoes they slip on in the morning.
