Michael Crichton’s widow filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming that the upcoming Max series “The Pitt,” starring Noah Wyle, is an unauthorized reboot of “ER.”
The lawsuit accuses producer John Wells of “personal treason,” alleging that he and Wyle turned to “The Pitt” after the Crichton estate blocked their plans to reboot “ER” and subsequent negotiations collapsed. Both are hospital shows, with “ER” in Chicago and “The Pitt” in Pittsburgh.
“‘The Pitt’ is ‘ER'”, the lawsuit states. “It’s not like ‘ER.’ It’s not some kind of ‘ER’. It’s not some kind of ‘ER’. It is ‘ER’ with the exact same executive producer, writer, star, production companies, studio and network as the planned ‘ER’ reboot.”
The pilot episode of “ER” was adapted from a script Crichton wrote in 1974, which was based on his own experiences as a medical student. He was credited as creator of the show, which ran for 15 seasons on NBC. Crichton died in 2008.
Wells, the longtime “ER” showrunner, began developing a reboot for Max in 2020, according to the complaint. R. Scott Gemmill, who produced many of the later seasons of “ER,” was brought on board as showrunner of the new series.
Crichton’s widow, Sherri, claims that Wells gave her a “courtesy call” in November 2022 to let her know that Warner Bros. would announce the restart soon. According to the lawsuit, Warner Bros. to honor Crichton’s contribution to the original series, but declined to negotiate for actual credit.
She responded by asserting the Crichton estate’s “frozen rights” to approve any possible reboots of the series. In subsequent negotiations, she says she was promised that Crichton would receive a “created by” credit, or that the estate would receive a $5 million guarantee. However, those terms were eventually withdrawn and the talks failed, the lawsuit said.
She claims that Wells, Wyle and Warner Bros. then went on to make the same show under a new name, cutting the Crichton estate out of the deal.
“Rather than give Crichton the ‘created by’ credit he deserved, Defendants would pretend that their reboot wasn’t his creation at all, thereby enriching themselves to the tune of millions of dollars – potentially
hundreds of millions or several billion dollars of success – and robbing Crichton’s heirs of their success
rightful share,” the lawsuit alleges.
“The Pitt” was announced in March and is expected to debut on Max sometime next year. The lawsuit alleges that Wyle actually repudiated his role as Dr. John Carter from ‘ER’ reprized, albeit under a different name.
The suit claims there are numerous other similarities between the two shows, including setting, pacing, structure, character traits and themes.
“If Warner Bros. can do this to Michael Crichton, one of the most successful and prolific creators in the industry who has made billions for the studio over the course of their partnership, no creator is safe,” a spokesperson for Sherri Crichton said in a statement. “While litigation is never preferable, contracts must be enforced and Michael Crichton’s legacy must be protected.”
The lawsuit seeks an injunction to stop Warner Bros. to restrain Crichton’s contract, as well as punitive and compensatory damages.
Warner Bros. has not yet responded. The Crichton Trust is represented by Robert Klieger of Hueston Hennigan LLP.