Michael Crichton Estate’s Lawsuit Alleging ‘The Pitt’ Is Unauthorized ‘ER’ Reboot Allowed To Move Forward

A judge ruled the estate of Michael Crichton can move forward with its lawsuit against Warner Bros. Television (WBTV), actor Noah Wyle and others over the new HBO Max series “The Pitt,” which the estate says is an unauthorized reboot of “ER.”

Crichton’s estate, and his widow Sherri, filed the lawsuit in August, alleging breach of contract and intentional interference with contractual relations. According to the lawsuit, producers were in talks with the estate about an “ER” reboot, but when negotiations were unsuccessful, they moved forward with the series anyway, simply relocating it from Chicago to Pittsburgh.

“ER” ran for 15 seasons, setting the blueprint for TV hospital dramas. Crichton, best known as a prolific author, screenwriter and director, actually used his experience attending Harvard Medical School and working his internship at an urban hospital to write the screenplay that would later become the acclaimed pilot episode of “ER.”

According to the lawsuit, WBTV sought to use an “ER” reboot to boost its struggling HBO Max platform, and began developing the series two years before initiating negotiations with the Crichton estate. Crichton’s original contract with WBTV including a rare “frozen rights” provision, ensuring Crichton would receive appropriate credit on an “ER” reboots or spinoffs, and that his estate and heirs would be compensated.

According to the lawsuit, WBTV promised a “created by” credit along with a $5 million guarantee in the event of nonperformance, and the estate was prepared to agree. But according to the estate, WBTV later reneged on the financial terms previously agreed to, and the estate refused to proceed.

Instead of scrapping the reboot, WBTV instead continued developing the series with a new name and location.

“The Pitt is ER. Its not like ER, its not kind of ER, its 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 states.

In response, the defendants, including WBTV, star and executive producer Noah Wyle, who also starred in “ER,” and producer John Wells, filed a motion asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, which relates to dismissing frivolous suits intended to impede free speech.

The defendants have argued that Crichton’s contract does not preclude them from producing a show set in a hospital, and that any similarities between the shows are common to all medical dramas.

On Monday, Judge Wendy Chang denied the motion, allowing the lawsuit to move forward.

“This is an important win for Michael Crichton and the entire creative community. The Court has rejected Warner Bros. attempt to avoid responsibility for breaching its contract with Michael Crichton, finding that the Crichton Estates claim has merit and should proceed,” a spokesperson for Sherri Crichton said in a statement.

“Sherri Crichton was thrilled that the original team behind ER wanted to do a reboot and was shocked when Warner Bros. abruptly broke off negotiations and announced The Pitt – a carbon copy of the ER reboot that was pitched to her,” the spokesperson said. “The Crichton Estate looks forward to presenting its case to a jury and is confident it will prevail.”