[2] The character first appears in the show's pilot episode when he introduces a medical case to the protagonist, Dr. Gregory House.

He auditioned for Wilson instead because he felt he would more enjoy playing the character that House went to for help and because he liked the Odd Couple dynamic of the relationship.

[14] He is Jewish, celebrates Christmas[15] in addition to Hanukkah, and sometimes refers to Christian history, philosophy, and practices, as well as secular self-actualization advice.

During a medical convention in New Orleans, shortly after graduating medical school, Wilson accidentally broke an antique mirror and started a bar fight when another customer repeatedly played "Leave A Tender Moment Alone" by Billy Joel; Wilson was going through a divorce with his first wife at the time.

[16] House met him in jail and, motivated by a desire for companionship and by sheer boredom, bailed him out and hired an attorney to clear his name, thus starting their professional and personal relationship.

[23] Wilson is also seen to write with his left hand, a trait he shares with Cuddy and Foreman,[24] but when he performs detailed medical work, such as injections or incisions, or gesticulates while speaking, appears to be right-handed in general, suggesting he may be ambidextrous.

Before this, Wilson watches House punch Dr. Robert Chase, insult Cuddy, and incorrectly diagnose a child with a condition that would have required the amputation of her left arm and leg.

[16] During Season 5, it is revealed that Wilson's homeless brother Danny suffered from schizophrenia since adolescence, which is what caused him to run away.

When Wilson finds out that Danny is in the Psychiatric Ward of New York Mercy Hospital [fictional], House offers to come with him to keep him company, noting that it could end badly.

In Season 6, Episode 15, "Private Lives", House discovers that Wilson, in his youth, had been an actor in a porno flick titled "Feral Pleasures".

[32] Throughout the episode, after House hangs movie posters all over the hospital, people start paraphrasing a quote by Wilson's character: "Be not afraid.

[35] However, Robert Sean Leonard compared the relationship between the two to that of Cesar Millan and his Pit Bull, while Hugh Laurie said that it's "not just buddydom".

[8][40] Within the scope of a popular comparison that draws parallels between House and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Wilson is equivalent to Doctor Watson.

[7] Producer Katie Jacobs believes that Wilson and House both hide from mature relationships, which brings the two closer together.

[41] Katie Jacobs has said that Wilson's moving into House's apartment after a failed relationship in "Sex Kills" symbolizes his taking "emotional refuge" in his friend.

[44] In a recap of the season four episode "Ugly" Nina Smith of TV Guide said that she thinks that the most convincing writing of the show has always been the scenes in which Cuddy and Wilson "spar" with House.

[45] In a 2008 press conference, Katie Jacobs, who works as an executive producer for the show, praised Leonard for being equally adept at comedy and drama.

[47] In an article about whom to keep if the writers of House decided to minor down the cast, Maureen Ryan, of the Chicago Tribune said that Wilson can "never, never, never, never" leave the show.

[49] After Wilson's temporary departure during House's fifth season, Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times immediately stated that she wanted the character to return to the show.