An appeals court unanimously determined that Sherri Crichton has sufficient grounds to pursue her lawsuit against Warner Bros Television over the medical drama The Pitt, which she claims violates her late husband’s contractual rights to his creation ER.
The three-judge panel rejected arguments from the defendants that similarities between the shows—both set in emergency rooms featuring exhausted medical personnel, graphic injuries, and inexperienced doctors—constitute generic elements common to any hospital-based drama. The court found “clear and numerous similarities” sufficient to establish a prima facie case, allowing the matter to proceed to jury trial in Los Angeles unless the parties reach a settlement. The panel dismissed individual defendants Noah Wyle, John Wells, and R Scott Gemmill as parties to the suit, finding insufficient evidence they were aware of potential contractual violations.
Michael Crichton created ER based on his experiences as a medical student and included a “frozen rights” provision in his 1994 contract with WBTV that prevented unauthorized spin-offs or reboots. Crichton died in 2008. His widow filed suit in August 2024, approximately five months before The Pitt’s debut, alleging the new show represented an unauthorized reboot and accusing Wells of betrayal.
The defendants have stated in public interviews that The Pitt was developed after an ER reboot project failed to materialize, with the creative team choosing to develop an original medical drama centered on healthcare workers’ experiences during the pandemic. Wyle, who starred in both ER as Dr. John Carter and The Pitt as Dr. Michael Robinavitch, described the shift as liberating the storytelling from established continuity.
The Pitt has accumulated 12 Emmy awards, two Golden Globe awards, and a Peabody award across two seasons. Season three is scheduled to begin broadcasting in January.
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