While House has been off the air for almost a month, at least the Fox hit plans on rewarding loyal viewers next week.

As given away in our headline above, the episode "Lockdown" is unique for a trio of reasons: it marks Hugh Laurie's first directorial effort of the series, the return of Jennifer Morrison and the appearance of David Strathairn as a patient with whom House gets locked in a room.

Count on a complete recap/review of the installment after it airs, including the latest House quotes.

For now, enjoy "Lockdown" photos below, as well as the official Fox preview for the episode:

[video url="http://www.tvfanatic.com/videos/lockdown-promo/" title="Lockdown Promo"] [/video]

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.