Odette Annable is joining the hit FOX drama ‘House’ as a series regular for the upcoming eighth season, Deadline is reporting. The former ‘Breaking In’ star will be the first regular addition to the cast since Olivia Wilde, Peter Jacobson and Kal Penn were all promoted in Season 4.

The majority of the details of what character Annable (who formerly was known by her maiden name Yustman, until she married ‘Brothers & Sisters’ star Dave Annable in October 2010) will play are being kept under wraps. But her character will reportedly meet Dr. Gregory House in prison. The title character will be behind bars in the Season 8 premiere. He drove his car into the living room of his boss, hospital administrator and Dean of Medicine Dr. Lisa Cuddy, played by Lisa Edelstein, during the Season 7 finale.

The few details of Annable’s character that have been revealed include her playing a doctor at the prison, whom House recruits while he’s there. He wants her to be the new addition of his diagnosticians team at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Annable is expected to be the only full-time female cast member on ‘House.’ Wilde is not expected to be in every episode next season, as she’s focusing on her movie career. Amber Tamblyn, who portrayed medical student Martha M. Masters during the seventh season to fill the void left by Wilde’s absence, will not be returning for the upcoming season. The show’s producers have yet to announce who will replace Edelstein, who decided to leave the show in May 2011. A month later, it was revealed she will be joining CBS’ ‘The Good Wife’ for a multi-episode arc.

Written by: Karen Benardello