The estate of “ER” creator and author Michael Crichton is suing Warner Bros. Television, alleging that an upcoming Max show by “ER” alumni called “The Pitt” is actually an unauthorized reboot of the hit medical drama series.
Inspired by Crichton’s own experiences as a medical intern at an urban hospital, “ER” starred several prominent actors — including Noah Wyle, George Clooney and Julianna Margulies — and racked up 23 Emmy Awards during its 15-season run.
According to the complaint, Warner Bros. began developing an “ER” reboot in early 2020 — without notifying Sherri Crichton, the writer’s widow and guardian of the estate that controls his “ER” assets.
Almost two years later, according to the court filing, those working on the project approached the estate to get consent for the show. But after attempts to negotiate collapsed, the lawsuit said the studio continued developing the show, simply moving the series from Chicago to Pittsburgh.
“The Pitt is ER. It’s not like ER, it’s not kind of ER, it’s not sort of ER. It is ER complete with the same executive producer, writer, star, production companies, studio, and network as the planned ER reboot,” the lawsuit stated. “No one has been fooled, with The Hollywood Reporter recognizing the reboot, now named The Pitt, for what it actually is: ER 2.0.”
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A 15-episode order for “The Pitt” — a drama with “ER” alumni Wyle as its star and an executive producer, John Wells as an executive producer, and R. Scott Gemmill as its showrunner — was announced by Warner Bros. Television Group in March, and the show’s release date hasn’t been announced yet. The trio are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
The complaint states that both shows feature emergency room professionals at urban hospitals, have episodes that take place over a single day and have similar characters, including students or interns, hospital staff who must be treated by the doctors, and emergency room regulars. And according to a “Pitt” script that Deadline obtained, Wyle, who played a medical student turned physician named John Carter for several seasons in “ER,” was cast as a highly experienced doctor named Michael Robinavich in “The Pitt.”
Warner Bros. Television called the lawsuit “baseless” in an emailed statement, defending “The Pitt” as a “new and original show.” “Any suggestion otherwise is false, and Warner Bros. Television intends to vigorously defend against these meritless claims.”
Entertainment attorney Tre Lovell says the parties will probably resolve the fight before a jury trial materializes. But he said that based on the lawsuit’s details, the estate presumptively has the upper hand in the case.
“You’ve got the same elements [in] the new show,” he said. “ … If there was never even an issue of the similarity, of the fact that you may be violating an agreement, then the question is: Why even try to negotiate it?”
If the case proceeds, analysts will have to determine whether the shows are similar enough to violate the contract and warrant the punitive damages the estate seeks.
When the series was announced this year, Wyle, Wells and Gemmill said in a press release that they were “thrilled to be able to return to this world with the support of our partners and are looking forward to pushing the boundaries of dramatic realism and medical accuracy in following the lives of these heroic men and women.”
A spokesperson for Sherri Crichton, however, called the move to create the new TV series a “shameful betrayal” of the late author and screenwriter.
“Warner Bros. has brazenly stolen Crichton’s creation and trampled upon the contractual protections Crichton secured to protect his heirs and his legacy,” Sherri Crichton’s spokesperson wrote in a statement. “ … Changing the show’s name does not change the fact that The Pitt — which has exactly the same premise, structure, themes, pace, producers, and star — is ER through and through.”
In addition to creating “ER,” Crichton wrote “Jurassic Park,” the 1990 sci-fi novel that Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster 1993 film — now a media franchise — was based on. He also created, wrote and directed the 1973 “Westworld” film, which was adapted into an HBO series, and he co-wrote the 1996 film “Twister,” which was rebooted as “Twisters” last month to rave reviews.
“If Warner Bros. can do this to Michael Crichton, one of the industry’s most successful and prolific creators who made the studio billions over the course of their partnership, no creator is safe,” Sherri Crichton’s spokesperson stated.
correction
A previous version of this article misspelled the last name of actor Noah Wyle. The article has been corrected.
