Dr. Gregory House is hanging up his stethoscope.

The FOX medical drama House, M.D. will air its final episode in April 2012, the show's producers announced Wednesday.

Starring Hugh Laurie, 52, Lisa Edelstein, 44, Omar Epps, 38, Robert Sean Leonard, 42, Jesse Spencer, 32, Oddette Annable, 26, Peter Jacobson, 46, and Charlyne Yi, 26, the show has earned two Primetime Emmy Awards since its debut in 2004. (Previous cast members include Olivia Wilde, 27, and Jennifer Morrison, 32.)

"After much deliberation, the producers of House M.D. have decided that this season of the show, the eighth, should be the last. By April this year they will have completed 177 episodes, which is about 175 more than anyone expected back in 2004," producers Laurie, David Shore and Katie Jacobs tell Us Weekly in a statement.

"The decision to end the show now, or ever, is a painful one, as it risks putting asunder hundreds of close friendships that have developed over the last eight years — but also because the show itself has been a source of great pride to everyone involved."

The cast and crew of House, M.D. "will bid farewell to the audience and to each other with more than a few tears, but also with a deep feeling of gratitude for the grand adventure they have been privileged to enjoy for the last eight years."

Laurie, Shore and Jacobs add: "If the show lives on somewhere, with somebody, as a fond memory, then that is a precious feat, of which we will always be proud."

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