There was a lot of question on whether or not "House" jumped the shark last season with the cranky doctor crashing his car into his ex-girlfriend's house. Whether it was or not, that seems to be moot now ... Fox has cancelled "House M.D." after eight seasons.

"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," star Hugh Laurie and producers David Shore and Katie Jacobs said in a joint statement. "Also because the show itself has been a source of great pride to everyone involved."

The trio said that "House" has "aspired to offer a coherent and satisfying world in which everlasting human questions of ethics and emotion, logic and truth, could be examined, played out, and occasionally answered.

"This sounds like fancy talk, but it really isn't," they said. "'House' has, in its time, intrigued audiences around the world in vast numbers, and has shown that there is a strong appetite for television drama that relies on more than prettiness or gun play."

"House" has struggled the past couple of seasons in the ratings, to the point that Fox had actually left the show on the bubble almost up to the spring advertiser presentations. Robert Sean Leonard, who played oncologist Dr. James Wilson, had considered leaving the show, but then signed a new agreement at the last minute. But terms could not be reached with Lisa Edelstein, who played administrator Lisa Cuddy, and she left the show before the start of this season.

Through the end of January, "House" was Fox's ninth-rated program, tied with the comedy "New Girl" and was ranked just inside the top 50. It was averaging a 4.6 rating/7 share in Fast National overnight ratings from The Nielsen Co., down 20 percent from last year. That was after last year was off 21 percent from the year before, making it Fox's No. 5 show, and No. 34 overall.

The real question, however, is what this might mean for Laurie's career. The British comedy actor has indicated plans to retire from television after "House" concludes, and now it's time to see if he is going to make good on that, or find some other avenue to continue.

At the same time, Entertainment Weekly is trying to read between the lines and figure out if producers might be planning to shop the show around to other outlets, like cable channels. They point out one line in the statement that seems to support their assertion: "The producers can never sufficiently express their gratitude to the hundreds of dedicated artists and technicians, who have given so generously of their energy and talent to make 'House' the show it has been -- and perhaps will continue to be for some time, on one cable network or another."

Although it airs on Fox, "House" is actually produced by NBC Universal, which owns a television network that has been struggling to get viewers. While "House" numbers are down, if it were pulling this audience on NBC, it would be the network's No. 4 show behind the preview of "Off Their Rockers," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "Harry's Law." While there has been some chatter about a "House" move to NBC in the past, it's not clear if that's what's being considered, at least from what is being implied in this statement.

Fox president Kevin Reilly had nothing but good things to say about "House," of course.

"A true original, on the page and amazingly brought to life by Hugh Laurie, there is only one Dr. House," he said. "For eight seasons, the entire 'House' team has given us -- and fans around the world -- some of the most compelling characters and affecting stories ever seen on television."

"House" was nominated for 25 Emmys during its run, winning five, including Shore for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series for "Three Stories" in 2005. Greg Yaitanes won for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series in 2008 for "House's Head."

Last year the show had just two nominations, one for Laurie in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Series role he never won, and in a technical category. It won the technical category, however.

"House" airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.