Just when we started to think that things might be getting back to normal on House...
EW's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Jennifer Morrison is being written out of House and that her last episode will air in November. I don't want to say much more than that - details after the jump.
According to Ausiello, Morrison finished taping her last scene this week and he made it clear that she did not quit. This was a creative decision handed down by David Shore and his producing team. While she could potentially be back later in the season for a guest appearance, nothing has been finalized in that department.
So what do we know? Two big things actually - she isn't being killed off and Jesse Spencer, who plays Chase, is sticking around.
After last season barely featured any scenes with Cameron or Chase, there was some hope that their screen time would increase this season - especially since they finally tied the knot in last season's finale.
Safe assumption? The marriage starts off rocky and I'm guessing that House's return as a new man from Mayfield Psychiatric Hospital doesn't help matters either. It's feasible that the odd sexual tension that always existed between House and Cameron might play a role in her departure from Princeton-Plainsboro.
While I have nothing to back this up, I'm guessing this has been in the works for a while and no one - not even Morrison - knew it was coming. A November exit would probably be about maybe, what? The seventh or eighth episode of the season? That likely means this plot was hatched by the writers before the season started shooting, and seeing as how Morrison was part of all the promotional effort for the season, she probably had no reason to suspect that her time was up. Based on this interview with Ausiello from last month, she sure talked like she was sticking around.
It's too bad. I was really looking forward to seeing House and the whole team back together again.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
9-24-2009 @ 4:17PM
Cander said...
"A November exit would probably be about maybe, what? The seventh or eighth episode of the season?"
This is Fox. So after House is preempted for whatever reality special Fox wants to show, maybe episode 4.
Reply
9-24-2009 @ 4:21PM
Jonathan Toomey said...
Cander - fortunately, you're wrong, though normally, I think you would be right. Episode four airs on Oct. 12, so looks like we will hopefully have at least some time to say good-bye to Cameron...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_md_episodes#Season_6:_2009.E2.80.932010
9-24-2009 @ 4:34PM
Sean said...
This is absolutely ridiculous, Jonathan. While I didn't read the whole article, you gave away a huge spoiler right in the title of the post. I am a fan of your writing and a regular reader of this site, but this article and specifically the headline was unfair and thoughtless. Screw you, dude.
Reply
9-24-2009 @ 4:39PM
Jonathan Toomey said...
Sean -
This is being widely reported by numerous other sites as we speak. You could have stumbled on to this anywhere. Our policy at TV Squad has always been to avoid spoilers before the jump in *an episode review.*
You can be sure that once Morrison's final ep airs, the how and why won't be discussed before the jump.
This, on the other hand, is *news.* We knew people would be irked by the headline, but again, it's news. Big difference.
9-24-2009 @ 6:05PM
Wii60 said...
Jonathan,
You still should have only stated that someone was being written out in the headline, not who.
I don't care who else is doing it, we picked TV Squad for a reason. This is not in line with what has previously been very well executed blogging. I for one, am disappointed at this decision by the Editor.
9-24-2009 @ 7:12PM
Bubbameister33 said...
Why come here if you are going to get pissed off at the news that is reported?
9-24-2009 @ 4:33PM
Nacho said...
Place me firmly in the "screw you dude" camp as well.
I absolutely loathe the fact that casting info like this is reported as news, spoiling major plotlines months before they happen. It's getting impossible these days to be surprised at all anymore because sites like TV Squad do their best to make sure everyone knows what's going to happen well before we get a shot to actually watch it on TV.
For the record, I don't even watch House, but I know I'd be beyond pissed off if I did. As it stands I'm just mildly peeved on principle.
Reply
9-24-2009 @ 4:41PM
Mark Adams said...
Why not cast your displeasure at EW's Ausiello? Toomey is just re-posting something that has been Twittered, blogged, and just about everything else. It appears the only way to avoid spoilers these days is to stay offline - they are difficult to avoid, especially for those of us who TiVO shows.
Reply
9-24-2009 @ 5:04PM
Nacho said...
For the record, all of my scorn isn't being sent to TV Squad, but just all of the entertainment blogging community as a whole for deciding that things like this qualify as news that everyone automatically wants to know. I'm sure there are lots of people that wouldn't mind knowing this, but that's what spoiler sites are for.
Personally I do dish out a lot of hate towards TV Squad because they are my primary, and most often only source of hearing things like this. I'm sure that there are dozens if not hundreds of ways that this info could have found it's way to viewers, but I'm pretty sure that if I wouldn't have read this here, there's a good chance I would have been unspoiled until it aired as I don't watch shows like ET or have never read a single thing that EW's Ausiello has written firsthand. If I could find a site that provided reviews of the shows I watch without doing the spoiling that they so frequently do, I'd switch in a heartbeat, but I guess this is just one of those, you have to take the good with the bad things in life.
9-24-2009 @ 4:45PM
Sean said...
Jonathan, this might very well be news, but what would have been the downside of warning us? Rather, you posted the news right in the headling, not even giving people the chance. And just because someone else on the internet posts something, doesn't change what you have done here today. You have torn a gaping hole in the fabric of human dignity. For shame.
Reply
9-24-2009 @ 4:58PM
Jake G said...
Hey children, did he say HOW she was going to be written out of the show? No. So its not a spoiler.
Plain and simple.
You people are so sensitive.
Hey, did you hear LOST is ending this season? Oh no, I think I spoiled that too..
Reply
9-24-2009 @ 5:09PM
Nacho said...
You're wrong.
I now know something major that's going to happen to a character on a show months before it happens. By definition, that's a spoiler.
Plain and simple.
9-24-2009 @ 4:56PM
wulfn1 said...
Back to the article,...
While it seems like burning a bridge to kill her off, Cameron's character has been stagnant for a very long time, and the writers have gone out of their way not to expand with her , only tossing her character in briefly during shows, and only when there's a lag in the plot(or maybe when fans bitch too loudly.)
It would be in the show's best interest not to kill her but to let her move on. You never know when you are going to need to bring a character back to fill a void
(just ask the writers of soap operas!)
Reply
9-24-2009 @ 5:00PM
Jake G said...
I agree. She has been just chillin' in the background, wanting to come back to Team House, but hasn't. I think she leaves the hospital, city, county and state.
Maybe gets a job at another hospital.
9-24-2009 @ 6:21PM
Johnzo said...
Jennifer Morrison leaving the show is --without a doubt-- a spoiler.
It should have not been in the title. It's simply rude to do this especially when this is a site for fans especially when your fans have complained about it in the past.
You could have easily written the title as "House Bombshell" and done the explanation in the body of the text.
Unacceptable. TvSquad needs to apologize and not simply defend itself outright like Jonathan Toomey did.
Reply
9-24-2009 @ 6:15PM
Joel Keller said...
Here's Ausiello's headline:
Exclusive: Jennifer Morrison leaving 'House'
Please ask him to apologize, too, because he's the source. As soon as he apologizes, we'll apologize.
9-24-2009 @ 6:52PM
Nacho said...
Because TV squad aspires to be nothing more than a site that reposts real journalist's info and calls it a day?
"When he apologizes, we will too", give me a break, what a copout excuse. I don't read EW, I don't know or care who Aussiello is, I'm a reader of THIS website. This was an example of how you could have taken this opportunity to be BETTER than all the other websites instead of just firmly placing yourselves alongside with the "everyone else is doing it" excuse.
When will you learn that a) not everyone likes knowing the comings and goings on a shows cast, and b) not everyone reads 1,000 entertainment websites a day to scour for every bit of casting info that's out there. All (some of us) are asking for is a place to go that doesn't actively try to spoil us at every turn. Is that really too much to ask?
9-24-2009 @ 6:31PM
Johnzo said...
The bottom line is that TvSquad could have reported this same news without spoiling people. They chose not to.
EW Ausiello is irrelevant; It's a reflection of TvSquad and how it treats its fans.
Reply
9-24-2009 @ 6:50PM
paiper said...
OMG! This is outrageous! They get rid of the most interesting supporting character on the show. I ma completely gutted. What a silly step to take! The ratings will continue to drop as the season advances. I for one am jumping the ship. No Cameron, no "House"!
Reply
9-24-2009 @ 7:26PM
Jack said...
I already knew it, but putting her name in the title of the article is weak. And if your point is to get people to click through RSS feeds and see your actual site, putting the name after the jump would have made more sense anyway.