David Shore
Encyclopedia
David Shore is a Canadian writer, best known for his work writing and producing in television. As a former lawyer, Shore became known for his work on Family Law
, NYPD Blue
, and Due South
. Shore also produced many episodes of the hit cult
television series Due South
, before creating the hit show, House
.
rabbis. He is the only member of his family involved in television.
for his undergraduate studies after graduating from A.B. Lucas Secondary School with distinction. He subsequently attended the University of Toronto
for his law degree in 1982. Following his education he initially worked as a municipal and corporate lawyer in his native Canada before he moved to Los Angeles to break into television. He sees this as a lateral move, as he did not consider being an attorney an uncreative occupation.
. His work on that series was nominated for two Emmy Award
s.
He then moved on to the series Family Law
, Hack and Century City
, but these were not commercial successes. In 2003, producer Paul Attanasio
— who had previously worked with NBC
on such shows as Homicide: Life on the Street
and Gideon's Crossing
— approached Shore to request a procedural
, as he knew the network was looking for another one to follow up on the success of Law & Order
and to imitate CBS's success with CSI
and NCIS
. Attanasio's idea was to apply the police procedural genre to a show about medicine. While in most procedurals the characters are secondary to the mystery, Shore claims to have realized that a medical procedural should place the mystery secondary to the hero
. He therefore conceived of a hero similar to the iconic detective Sherlock Holmes
.
That hero was Dr. Gregory House
, the main character of House played by the talented British actor, comedian and musician Hugh Laurie. Although NBC took a pass on the series, Fox
picked it up, and by the end of the first season, it was their biggest new hit of 2004–05. Shore wrote or co-wrote five episodes of that first season, including its pilot
and the Season One pre-finale, "Three Stories
", in which he intricately wove the stories of three patients whilst also revealing the reason for Dr. House's limp and Vicodin
(hydrocodone
) addiction. The latter of these won the 2005 Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Shore made his directorial debut on the series House by directing the Season Two finale "No Reason".
Due to the success of House, Shore was granted a generous contract for a fourth, fifth and sixth season. It was renewed for a seventh season, which began airing on September 20, 2010. The sixth season began with a two-hour season premiere, titled "Broken
" which he co-wrote. Shore and his co-writers won the Writers Guild of America Award
for episodic drama at the February 2010 ceremony
for the premiere. In 2009 he finished production of the short-lived police TV show Winters starring Famke Janssen
.
, California
, with his wife Judy and their three children. He is good friends with Dr Andrew Quinn of Bradford Royal Infirmary, UK, an accomplished diagnostician who possibly was part of the inspiration for Dr Gregory House who he met while skiing in Banff
. However, Mr. Shore has never met Dr. Quinn nor has he ever been skiing in Banff.
Family Law (TV series)
Family Law is a television drama starring Kathleen Quinlan as divorced lawyer Lynn Holt, who attempted to start her own law firm after her lawyer husband took all their old clients...
, NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
, and Due South
Due South
Due South is a Canadian crime drama series with elements of comedy. The series was created by Paul Haggis, produced by Alliance Communications, and stars Paul Gross, David Marciano, and latterly Callum Keith Rennie...
. Shore also produced many episodes of the hit cult
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
television series Due South
Due South
Due South is a Canadian crime drama series with elements of comedy. The series was created by Paul Haggis, produced by Alliance Communications, and stars Paul Gross, David Marciano, and latterly Callum Keith Rennie...
, before creating the hit show, House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
.
Early life
Both of David Shore's parents were Jewish and his two younger brothers, twins Ephraim and Robert, are Aish HaTorahAish HaTorah
Aish HaTorah is a Jewish Orthodox organization and yeshiva. Aish HaTorah is actively pro-Israel and encourages Jewish people to visit Israel and connect to the land and its history. Some consider the organisation to reflect a more Religious Zionist philosophy in its attachment to Israel, promoting...
rabbis. He is the only member of his family involved in television.
Education
Shore attended the University of Western OntarioUniversity of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...
for his undergraduate studies after graduating from A.B. Lucas Secondary School with distinction. He subsequently attended the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
for his law degree in 1982. Following his education he initially worked as a municipal and corporate lawyer in his native Canada before he moved to Los Angeles to break into television. He sees this as a lateral move, as he did not consider being an attorney an uncreative occupation.
Television
He wrote for the television series Due South — about another Canadian transplanted in America, albeit a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Force — before he became a producer on the ABC drama NYPD BlueNYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
. His work on that series was nominated for two Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s.
He then moved on to the series Family Law
Family Law (TV series)
Family Law is a television drama starring Kathleen Quinlan as divorced lawyer Lynn Holt, who attempted to start her own law firm after her lawyer husband took all their old clients...
, Hack and Century City
Century City (TV series)
Century City is an American science fiction-legal drama television series set in Los Angeles in the year 2030.-Synopsis:The show follows the legal team of Crane, Constable, McNeil & Montero...
, but these were not commercial successes. In 2003, producer Paul Attanasio
Paul Attanasio
Paul Albert Attanasio is an American screenwriter and producer of film and television, who is currently an executive producer on the television series House.-Life and career:...
— who had previously worked with NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
on such shows as Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale...
and Gideon's Crossing
Gideon's Crossing
Gideon's Crossing is a US medical drama starring Andre Braugher. The series was loosely based on the experience of real-life physician Jerome Groopman and his book The Measure of Our Days. It premiered on October 10, 2000, and ran for one season, with its last episode airing on April 9, 2001, with...
— approached Shore to request a procedural
Procedural (genre)
A Procedural is a cross-genre type of literature, film, or television program involving a sequence of technical detail. A documentary film may be written in a procedural style to heighten narrative interest.- Fiction :...
, as he knew the network was looking for another one to follow up on the success of Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
and to imitate CBS's success with CSI
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
and NCIS
NCIS (TV series)
NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
. Attanasio's idea was to apply the police procedural genre to a show about medicine. While in most procedurals the characters are secondary to the mystery, Shore claims to have realized that a medical procedural should place the mystery secondary to the hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
. He therefore conceived of a hero similar to the iconic detective Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
.
That hero was Dr. Gregory House
Gregory House
Gregory House, M.D., or simply referred to as House, is a fictional antihero and title character of the American television series House, played by Hugh Laurie. He is the Chief of Diagnostic Medicine at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, where he leads a team of diagnosticians...
, the main character of House played by the talented British actor, comedian and musician Hugh Laurie. Although NBC took a pass on the series, Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
picked it up, and by the end of the first season, it was their biggest new hit of 2004–05. Shore wrote or co-wrote five episodes of that first season, including its pilot
Pilot (House)
"Pilot", also known as "Everybody Lies", is the first episode of the U.S. television series House. The episode premiered on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. It introduces the character of Dr. Gregory House —a maverick antisocial doctor—and his team of diagnosticians at the fictional...
and the Season One pre-finale, "Three Stories
Three Stories
"Three Stories" is the twenty-first episode of the first season of House, which premiered on the Fox network on May 17, 2005. David Shore won an Emmy in 2005 for Outstanding Writing for A Drama Series for this episode. It won the Humanitas Prize in the '60 minute' category for the year 2006.-Plot:Dr...
", in which he intricately wove the stories of three patients whilst also revealing the reason for Dr. House's limp and Vicodin
Vicodin
Hydrocodone/paracetamol is a combination of two analgesic products hydrocodone and paracetamol used to relieve moderate to severe pain...
(hydrocodone
Hydrocodone
Hydrocodone or dihydrocodeinone is a semi-synthetic opioid derived from either of two naturally occurring opiates: codeine and thebaine. It is an orally active narcotic analgesic and antitussive...
) addiction. The latter of these won the 2005 Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Shore made his directorial debut on the series House by directing the Season Two finale "No Reason".
Due to the success of House, Shore was granted a generous contract for a fourth, fifth and sixth season. It was renewed for a seventh season, which began airing on September 20, 2010. The sixth season began with a two-hour season premiere, titled "Broken
Broken (House)
"Broken" is the joint title for the first and second episodes of the sixth season of the television series House. It is a two-part season premiere, being first broadcast on the Fox network on September 21, 2009...
" which he co-wrote. Shore and his co-writers won the Writers Guild of America Award
Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949...
for episodic drama at the February 2010 ceremony
Writers Guild of America Awards 2009
The 62nd Writers Guild of America Awards honored the best film, television, and videogame writers of 2009. Winners were announced on February 20, 2010.-Best Adapted Screenplay:*Crazy Heart*Julie & Julia...
for the premiere. In 2009 he finished production of the short-lived police TV show Winters starring Famke Janssen
Famke Janssen
Famke Beumer Janssen is a Dutch actress and former fashion model. She is known for playing the villainous Bond girl Xenia Onatopp in GoldenEye and Jean Grey/Phoenix in the X-Men film series .- Early life and education :...
.
Personal life
He lives in Encino HillsEncino, Los Angeles, California
Encino is a hilly district of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. Specifically, it is located in the central portion of the southern San Fernando Valley and on the north slope of the Santa Monica Mountains...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, with his wife Judy and their three children. He is good friends with Dr Andrew Quinn of Bradford Royal Infirmary, UK, an accomplished diagnostician who possibly was part of the inspiration for Dr Gregory House who he met while skiing in Banff
Banff, Alberta
Banff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately west of Calgary and east of Lake Louise....
. However, Mr. Shore has never met Dr. Quinn nor has he ever been skiing in Banff.
House
| Creator & Executive Producer | ||
|---|---|---|
| Season | Title | Notes |
| 1 | "Pilot" | Season One Premiere; Writer |
| 1 | "Occam's Razor" | Writer |
| 1 | "Sports Medicine" | Written by Shore & John Mankiewicz |
| 1 | "Babies and Bathwater" | Teleplay by Shore & Peter Blake (Story by Blake) |
| 1 | "Three Stories" | Writer; Won Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing |
| 2 | "Skin Deep" | Teleplay by Shore & Russel Friend & Garrett Lerner (Story by Friend & Lerner) |
| 2 | "Euphoria - Part Two" | Written by Shore & Russel Friend & Garrett Lerner |
| 2 | "No Reason" | Season Two Finale; Director & Teleplay (Story by Shore & Lawrence Kaplow) |
| 3 | "Meaning" | Season Three Premiere; Teleplay by Shore & Lawrence Kaplow (Story by Shore & Kaplow & Russel Friend & Garrett Lerner) |
| 3 | "Cane and Able" | Story by Shore & Lawrence Kaplow & Russel Friend & Garrett Lerner (Teleplay by Friend & Lerner) |
| 3 | "One Day, One Room" | Writer |
| 4 | "Alone" | Season Four Premiere; Teleplay by Shore & Peter Blake (Story by Blake) |
| 4 | "No More Mr. Nice Guy" | Written by Shore & David Hoselton |
| 5 | "Not Cancer" | Written by Shore & Lawrence Kaplow |
| 6 | "Broken - Parts One and Two" | Season Six Premiere; Telemovie; Written by Shore & David Foster & Russell Friend & Garrett Lerner |
| 7 | "The Fix" | Teleplay by Shore & Thomas L. Moran (Story by Moran) |