‘House’ and ‘Terra Nova’ still awaiting word on their fates

Back at last summer’s TV critics press tour, FOX Entertainment president Kevin Reilly said he’d likely make a decision in the fall about whether this season would be the last one for “House.”

It was also widely assumed that FOX would have made a call on “Terra Nova” by now, since options on most of the actors expired at the end of December and the digital effects-heavy production would need to ramp up soon to deliver a second season in the fall.

Neither of those things has happened yet. Reilly joked Sunday (Jan. 8) at the current edition of the press tour that “we’ve done a good job of avoiding some of these big decisions until after the session.”

With “House,” Reilly says he and creator David Shore agreed to hold off on talks until after the new year. “We’re talking, obviously, as we go. We haven’t had the big meeting about what do we want to do,” Reilly says.

“We’re going to size everything up — it’s no secret that last year we said it was going to be a close call and probably it’s the last year, but honestly we just haven’t made a decision.”

If the call is to end “House” after this season, though, Reilly says there’s still enough time for Shore and Co. to craft a series finale: “Should it be the last season, this is not going to be an unceremonious finish, I can tell you that.”