Which fictional detective was a major inspiration for Gregory House in House M.D.?

Sherlock Holmes was a major inspiration for Gregory House in House M.D.

The connection appears in the character’s surname, his observant and deductive style, and his habit of solving difficult cases through clues that other doctors overlook. Like Holmes, House is exceptionally skilled but socially abrasive, skeptical of conventional explanations, and dependent on a close friend who provides an important human counterpoint.

House’s friend James Wilson parallels Dr. John Watson in broad narrative terms, although the two characters are not direct copies. The medical setting also transforms detective-style deduction into diagnostic reasoning.

The inspiration is not a claim that every plot is adapted from a Holmes story. Rather, House M.D. uses Holmesian traits and relationships as a foundation for an original medical drama. The series also includes explicit references to Holmes throughout its run.