A California appeals court ruled Wednesday that a lawsuit brought by the widow and estate of "ER" creator Michael Crichton can move forward, finding enough similarity between the classic NBC medical drama and the HBO Max series "The Pitt" to support claims that the newer show is an unauthorized reboot.
A three-judge panel from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal unanimously agreed that the trial judge was right to reject a motion by Warner Bros. Television, which produced both series, to throw out the case. The panel did, however, dismiss Noah Wyle, the star of both shows and a producer on "The Pitt," along with John Wells, who created "The Pitt" and worked on "ER," and R. Scott Gemmill, a "Pitt" executive producer who also worked on both series.
The dispute pits the makers of two Emmy-winning series that were each among the most important and acclaimed shows of their eras. Crichton, the author of "Jurassic Park" and other novels that became hit films and shows, wrote the pilot script for "ER," the drama about a Chicago emergency room that redefined the medical genre and drew tens of millions of weekly viewers during its run from 1994 to 2009.
Sherri Crichton filed the lawsuit two years ago, before a single episode of "The Pitt" had aired. The HBO Max series, which depicts a real-time day in the life of a Pittsburgh emergency department, has since become perhaps the most lauded show on television, winning two Emmys for best drama for its first two seasons and two best actor Emmys for Wyle.
Beyond more technical legal questions, the judges weighed whether the shows share at least the minimal similarity needed to give the case merit. The court sided with the plaintiff, writing that "both shows provide commentaries on the healthcare system; they focus specifically on the emergency room and the difficult conditions under which the medical staff operates," and that, unlike other medical shows that follow patients elsewhere, both take place almost entirely in the emergency room.
The opinion also pointed to "very fast pacing, and reactions to multiple overlapping crises," adding that the rapid dialogue is, to a layperson, "frequently incomprehensible shorthand and jargon, lending an air of immediacy and accuracy." The defendants had countered that the programs share only "generic similarities" that would appear in "any dramatic story" featuring "overworked doctors and staff."
In removing Wyle, Wells and Gemmill from the case, the judges found no evidence the three men knew the provisions of the Crichton contract that the lawsuit accuses them of interfering with.
The lawsuit alleges "The Pitt" is a rebranded version of an "ER" reboot that Sherri Crichton had rejected. Michael Crichton secured a coveted "frozen rights" provision in his contract for the series, barring Warner Bros. from making sequels, remakes, spinoffs or other productions derived from "ER" without his consent, or his estate's consent following his death from cancer in 2008.
After the studio failed to reach an agreement with Sherri Crichton over a proposed reboot, it developed and produced a series built on the same premise without permission, the lawsuit claims. Emails seeking comment on the ruling were sent to lawyers for Warner Bros.
