Warner Bros. Television, the studio behind NBC’s hit medical drama ER and Max’s upcoming medical drama The Pitthas hit back at a lawsuit filed this morning by Sherri Crichton, the widow of ER creator Michael Crichton, on behalf of Roadrunner JMTC from John Michael Crichton Trust.
“The lawsuit filed by the Crichton Estate is without merit, as The Pitt iIt is a new and original show,” the studio said in a statement. “Any suggestion that this is not the case is false, and Warner Bros. Television intends to vigorously defend itself against these meritless claims.”
The lawsuit alleges that, after concluding a year-long negotiation with the Crichton Estate over a sequel to ER with former ER executive producer John Wells, the studio took off The Pitt with the same creative auspices, moving the setting from Chicago to Pittsburgh.
Wells and Amblin TV were the other key assets that WBTV had to secure alongside the Crichton Estate in order to be a success. ER sequel possible. Their deals were never closed as negotiations with the estate broke down in April 2023 after the two sides could not agree on financial terms.
While those talks were going on, Wells had been having conversations with the former ER star Noah Wyle and writer R. Scott Gemmill on the potential restart. These are the same important auspices in which they are involved The Pitt.
“The Pitt is ER. It’s not true ERit is not so ERit’s nothing like that ER. It is ER complete with the same executive producer, writer, star, production companies, studio and network as planned ER reboot,” alleges the lawsuit, which names WBTV, Wells, Wyle and Gemmill, among others, accusing them of breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and intentional interference with contractual relations. Amblin TV is aware of this The Pitt and no claims are believed to have any alleged connections with ER.
There had been talk of Wells and Wyle teaming up again for the reboot ER, which gained momentum after the pandemic put healthcare workers back in the spotlight.
“That’s kind of the path we’re on,” Wyle said on a podcast earlier this year, noting that emails from first responders and others ER fans urged him to contact Wells about revisiting the beloved series, not with a traditional reboot, but “something much smaller and much more contained – more of a character piece that catches up with an old character and just finds out how they think about what is happening. now in healthcare.”
With the ER After negotiations ended abruptly about a week before the WGA strike, there was no movement for months. Wells and Gemmill, with Wyle on board, pitched The Pitt to the studio at the end of 2023 or early 2024. Max’s 15-episode straight-to-series order was announced on March 26.
According to the official logline, The Pitt is a real-world examination of the challenges healthcare workers face in contemporary America, seen through the lens of the frontline heroes working in a modern Pittsburgh hospital. Wyle, known for his ER role as Dr. John. Carter plays a new character, Michael Robinavich.
