House's Hugh Laurie & the Gang Spill Season Six Secrets

When we last saw Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), he was walking into a mental institution and wrapping his head around his hallucination of having sex with Dr. Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein).

Sure, we were mad at first for the big sex scene fake-out, but we were happy to learn at last night's House event at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills that a true Huddy hookup might just be in store for season six, which starts shooting very soon and hits Fox on Sept. 21.

House executive producers Katie Jacobs and David Shore, along with Hugh, Lisa and Omar Epps filled us in on House's mental state, Huddy's romantic state and the state of things at Princeton-Plainsboro...

House Has Gone Crazy: "This season opener is really going to begin shortly after those doors close behind him. We're going to wake up there and going to cover-storytelling wise in two hours-two to three months and that journey of rehabilitation that House feels he may or may not need, that he does need," says Katie. "It's not a full-on rehabilitation. House won't be perfect in any way. I describe it as if there's a hole in his heart, maybe he'll leave with one more piece, but the House is still there." Don't expect the whole season to take place in the mental institute though: "It's not going to be that much, but that two-hour premiere is basically exclusively there," adds David.

Paging Dr. Nolan: Who has the lucky job of diagnosing one of the most famous diagnosticians in the world? That job is left up to Dr. Nolan, played by Andre Braugher, whom you may remember from Gideon's Crossing. Katie describes the surely to butt heads pair: "House's version of how well he needs to be to go back to work and Nolan's version of how well he needs to be to go back to work is very different. You can check yourself in voluntarily, and you can leave voluntarily, but whether or not he's going to be permitted to practice medicine is another story. Before he is going to be allowed to practice medicine, Dr. Nolan needs to make sure House is on much sturdier ground than at the end of the season."

Hugh on Playing Crazy: Hop on the crazy boat, because we're in for quite a storm. Says Hugh, "House's sickness is an indispensable part of his skill, possibly his intellect, and if not his intellect, than his identity. All of us fear change because we fear even the things we dislike in our lives, we fear that they are nonetheless part of us, and if we surrender them then we will become some how less." For his time in the mental hospital, Hugh has shaved his head, saying "I have a slightly institutional look." However, being institutionalized is not all serious though, "There is just a small musical element to it. I'm completely out of my depth; I should not be doing it, but life is about risks!" jokes Hugh.

When the Doctor's Away, the Kids Will Play: When it comes to who's going to be in charge with House missing in action, Omar says that Foreman is stepping into the foreground: "That's sort of a natural progression. However, even in a mental institute, I would imagine House would still be in charge." Unfortunately, with every doctor trying to be the boss, it may not be good for Foreman and Thirteen (Olivia Wilde). "I think the stress of trying to take over the team is obviously going to have a strain on their relationship." Even if Foreman takes the lead, it's not going to be easy. Omar adds, "It's going to have a tremendous effect [with House gone]. Everyone is going to be second-guessing themselves. In that sense, House is a crutch for them. When all else fails, just go to him and he'll have the answers. The reality is, the other doctors are not willing to take the risks that he takes." Finally, don't expect House to waltz back into Princeton-Plainsboro ready to take over again: "You don't emerge from a psychiatric hospital and just get your medical license back all that easy. That differential diagnosis division is still going to be functioning, but whether he's going to be at the head of it initially or not, that's the question," says Katie.

Once He's Healed: Fans are still reeling over the imagined coupling of House and Cuddy, but Lisa tells us, "I loved the way they handled it because for one thing, it means they can still have sex. Because they haven't done it yet. In another way it shows what he wishes he had, which includes an intimate relationship with her, wanting to live with her and wanting to be off drugs. I think we learn a lot about him and we still have the opportunity of exploring it, because it hasn't been explored even though we got to shoot that sexy scene." Katie seconds that notion, "I think all those emotions, sparks, difficulties and the push and pull is still there. I think the only reason why he hallucinated that hallucination with someone he works with is because somewhere that's in his mind."