After eight seasons and 177 episodes, House will be closing its doors in May.

Fox and the show's producers announced Wednesday this will be the final season for the medical drama. At its peak in 2006-07, the show ranked No. 5 and drew nearly 20 million viewers a week, though it has slipped in recent seasons to an average 8.7 million viewers this year.

NBC Universal, the studio that produces House, last month said it hoped that the medical drama would continue, but that it would not move it to NBC if Fox passed.

Hugh Laurie, who stars as the manipulative, dyspeptic doc and genius diagnostician Gregory House, has been nominated for six Emmys, and the series has been nominated four times as best drama, though neither has ever won.