House M.D. was deliberately modeled partly on which fictional detective?

House M.D. was deliberately modeled partly on Sherlock Holmes.

Gregory House and Sherlock Holmes share a pattern of extraordinary deduction, unconventional methods, abrasive social behavior, and intense interest in solving difficult puzzles. House's surname also echoes Holmes's, and the show's creators built additional parallels into character names, plots, and relationships.

James Wilson functions in part as a Watson-like companion, while House's apartment number, 221B, refers to Holmes's famous London address at 221B Baker Street. House's drug dependence also parallels Holmes's use of cocaine in the original stories, although the television series places that issue in a modern medical and addiction context.

The resemblance does not mean House is a direct adaptation of a single Holmes story. House M.D. transposes the detective structure into diagnostic medicine: symptoms become clues, patients become cases, and differential diagnosis replaces criminal investigation. The show also draws on real medical mysteries and hospital drama, so Sherlock Holmes is an important model rather than the only source of its storytelling.