As Gregory House MD, he played the title role of a troubled doctor with complex relationships. And now, as Eldon Chance, Hugh Laurie is preparing to play the title role of a complex doctor with troubling relationships.
Swapping diagnostics for forensic neuropsychiatry, the British actor who achieved international stardom with the hit series House will star in a new made-for-streaming US TV drama.
In Chance, Laurie plays a medic whose life is plunged into chaos after an affair with a patient. The show, is based on the novel of the same title by Kem Nunn.
Laurie’s character, whose professional specialism involves the application of neuroscience to criminal behaviour, will be based in San Francisco. He treats Jaclyn Blackstone, the abused wife of an Oakland homicide detective.
Chance has an affair with Blackstone, who appears to be struggling with a multiple personality disorder as well as a jealous and dangerous husband. Chance has to cope with an acrimonious divorce and the growing pains of a teenage daughter.
Nunn, who has written five novels set variously in California’s surfing world, the Mojave desert and on the border with Mexico, has been described by the Washington Post the “principal heir to the tradition of Raymond Chandler and Nathanael West”.
The series will be shown on Hulu, a streaming service and competitor to Netflix. Hulu has committed to 20 episodes over two seasons, starting late this year.
Deadline Hollywood, which broke the story of Laurie agreeing to play Chance, reported that he was first choice for the role and signed on 18 months after he was first approached by the programme makers at Fox 21 TV Studios.
Laurie, who won two Golden Globes and two Screen Actors Guild trophies for House, will also be executive producer on the show. He had reportedly turned down every offer to lead a new series until Chance came along.
Lenny Abrahamson, whose film Room is up for best drama picture at the Golden Globes, will direct several episodes. For Hulu, Chance is a coup as it seeks to establish itself against the established networks, much in the same way that Netflix signalled its arrival in the big league with House of Cards.
Fox 21 also made Homeland and The Americans. Its president, Bert Salke, said Laurie had been active in working with the other executive producers.
“Hugh has very strong feelings, and he will be involved in every aspect of production,” Salke told Dateline Hollywood.
Casting for the other roles in Chase has already started, with production likely to begin in the spring.
Laurie, 57, is believed to have been paid £250,000 an episode for House at its peak. It ran from 2004 to 2012.
Adopting an American accent to play the misanthropic House was a surprising career move for Laurie, who was a successful comedian, starring mostly alongside fellow Blackadder star Stephen Fry in programmes such as their sketch show, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, and ITV’s Jeeves and Wooster.
In August it was reported that there were plans for a new series of Blackadder – provided the show could afford Laurie’s wages, joked Sir Tony Robinson, who played Baldrick.