Jul 26, 2011 16:15 GMT  ·  By

There’s a new hottie in town. Though reports would have it that the medical drama “House M.D.” will end with the upcoming, eighth season, at least producers are making it worth the while, by bringing new cast members on board.

In what is the first addition of a full-time female member to the cast since Olivia Wilde made her debut as Thirteen at the beginning of season 4, producers have nabbed Odette Annable for season 8.

With Lisa Edelstein out of the picture at the end of the previous season – when House drove his car straight into Cuddy’s living room, as fans must know – and Wilde still busy with feature films, it was to be expected for producers to bring in a new woman, Deadline writes.

She happens to be Odette, who will play a doctor whom House meets in jail at the start of the new season.

“Producers are keeping details about Annable’s character on House under wraps, but I hear that she meets Dr. Gregory House in prison,” Deadline says.

That’s right, it seems that not even House can get away with everything without paying the price for his actions: he will most likely serve time for the aforementioned incident.

“I hear Annable will play a doctor at the prison whom House recruits to be a new member of his team of diagnosticians, which means that House will likely return to Princeton-Plainsboro pretty quickly after his stint in the slammer,” the aforementioned e-zine says.

“With original co-star Edelstein making a surprising exit after last season and Amber Tamblyn ending her recurring stint, for now Annable will be the only full-time female cast member next season,” notes Deadline, adding that fans shouldn’t expect to see Wilde in every episode of season 8.

Even with the addition of Annable and all the other actors returning to reprise their roles, the cast is far from complete: producers still have to find someone to replace Edelstein as the Dean of Medicine.

Reports online suggest that “House” will not see past season 8 for a series of reasons, a decline in ratings and high production costs being among them. Many fans agree that it should end – if you don’t feel the same way, make yourself heard in the comments section below.