Update:
Hugh Laurie has continued to trade words with Janet Murray on X after their initial heated exchange about his series House. According to Deadline, Murray published an article on UnHerd, which detailed the fallout of the conversation between her and Laurie. The article points out that House fans took the opportunity to troll Murray. She posted,
“While it’s all been rather fun, I do hope @hughlaurie takes the time to read my @unherd article (I’m sure he can stretch to a subscription). Because while his witty riposte was genuinely amusing, one point I make in the piece is that it was shared with his 1.2 million followers on X. I have around 38,000. That creates something of an imbalance – particularly given that the responses to my original post were overwhelmingly warm-hearted and affectionate towards the show. The result has been some fairly horrific trolling. It turns out House fans are even more abusive than trans activists (and that’s saying something). I have enough experience of the media to take it on the chin, as the saying goes. But someone without my background might have found the experience far more distressing.”
Laurie would offer an apology and an explanation, saying, “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.”
The original article follows:
Hugh Laurie goes House on social media
Dr. House is famous for his grumpy attitude and his ability to put someone in their place as he solves some of the most unique medical mysteries. The series ended in 2012, but like any acclaimed show, it picks up new audiences every day.
A journalist named Janet Murray recently posted a critique of the series after starting the first season and posted on social media,
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 post attracted the attention of Hugh Laurie himself and he responded to the user, replying,
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. 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!”
The Night Manager
Meanwhile, Laurie returned to The Night Manager with season 2. Laurie played Richard Roper in the first and second seasons. He is also an executive producer on the show. While Laurie remains on board as executive producer for seasons 2 and 3, it’s not clear if he’s going to be showing up on screen for the full series.
Our Alex Maidy enjoyed season 2 of The Night Manager and gave it an 8 out of 10. He said in his review, “With The Night Manager already renewed for a third season, I do not anticipate the narrative in these six episodes to wrap cleanly but rather serve as the first half of a twelve-episode arc. The fact that we waited a decade for Tom Hiddleston and Olivia Colman to continue this tale does not register when you watch the new season of The Night Manager. Operating as a continuation of season one, The Night Manager‘s sophomore run is a fully self-contained season that can be enjoyed independently of what came before. Both seasons work together thanks to Tom Hiddleston’s quiet and understated performance, which is effortlessly cool yet intricately layered.”
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What’s Not Allowed