Warner Bros. Fires Back at Crichton Estate Over Claim ‘The Pitt’ Is an ‘ER’ Reboot: It’s a ‘Completely Different Show’

Warner Bros. is seeking to throw out a lawsuit filed by the estate of Michael Crichton, which argued that the forthcoming Max series “The Pitt” is an unauthorized reboot of “ER.”

Crichton was a creator of “ER,” having written the original pilot script based on his own experiences as a medical student. His widow, Sherri, sued in August, accusing John Wells, Noah Wyle and others of going behind her back to create “The Pitt,” which she alleged is “ER” in all but its title.

The studio filed a motion Monday arguing that the two shows are distinct and the lawsuit is doomed to fail.

“‘The Pitt’ is a completely different show from ‘ER,'” the motion states. “Plaintiff cannot use Mr. Crichton’s ‘ER’ contract as a speech-stifling weapon to prevent Defendants from ever making a show about emergency medicine.”

Warner Bros.’ lawyers argue that Crichton’s estate does not own the idea of setting a show in a hospital. The motion rattles off a list of other shows — “St. Elsewhere,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Chicago Med,” “House,” “The Good Doctor,” “The Resident” — to argue that the idea is “hardly unique.”

The lawsuit identified several alleged similarities between the two shows, including that Wyle stars in both of them. The suit also argued that Wyle is effectively reprising his role as Dr. John Carter on “ER” under a different character name.

In response, Warner Bros. argued the two shows have different plots, characters, themes, settings and paces, as well as different approaches to music and lighting.

“‘ER’ was also bound by network restrictions on language and nudity,” the motion states. “‘The Pitt’ is a streaming show uninhibited by such restriction.”

Crichton’s widow alleged that Wells, a former “ER” showrunner,” began trying to reboot the show for Max in 2020. She found out about it in 2022, when Wells called to give her a “courtesy” notice. She asserted her husband’s “frozen rights” to give consent to any “ER” reboot, and talks on how to properly credit him and compensate the estate ultimately broke down.

Wells then switched gears and created “The Pitt,” which Sherri Crichton alleges is an effort to avoid paying the estate.

Warner Bros.’ lawyers argue that “The Pitt” is not a “derivative work” as defined under copyright law, because it is not substantially similar to “ER.”

The studio’s lawyers cited several copyright cases for support, including two in which Crichton prevailed as the defendant, involving the films “Coma” and “Jurassic Park.”

Sherri Crichton blasted Warner Bros. for filing the motion on the anniversary of her husband’s death, calling it “emblematic of the studio’s callousness and utter disregard for Crichton’s legacy.” Her attorneys had previously agreed to extend the deadline for Warner Bros. to file the motion to Nov. 4, which is the 16th anniversary of the writer’s death.

“The defendants’ motion is a transparent attempt to dodge discovery and prevent the true facts from coming out,” she continued. “Warner Bros. negotiated with the estate for nearly a year, knowing it could not proceed with its ‘ER’ reboot without the estate’s permission. When those discussions failed, Warner Bros. slapped a new name on the series, changed its location, and proceeded anyway in clear violation of Crichton’s contract. The defendants’ last-minute attempt to rebrand their ‘ER’ reboot as ‘The Pitt’ is not fooling anyone. The estate looks forward to presenting its case to a jury and is confident it will prevail.”