Not an 'ER' knockoff, 'The Pitt' fights lawsuit
What's the story
The makers of HBO Max's The Pitt have filed a final brief in response to allegations that their show is a derivative work of the NBC series ER (1994-2009). The lawsuit was filed by the estate of ER creator Michael Crichton against Warner Bros. in 2024. In their reply, the defendants, which also includes producer John Wells and actor Noah Wyle, called these claims "baseless."
Legal rebuttal
Only similarity is the genre: Defendants
The defendants argued that The Pitt has "no protected elements" from ER, apart from being in the same genre (hospital drama) and using "certain unprotectable, genre-specific tropes" like medical jargon. They also pointed out that Wyle does not play the same character in both shows. The defendants further claimed that the Crichton estate filed this lawsuit before The Pitt even premiered.
Reboot proposal
Crichton's estate once considered rebooting 'ER'
The defendants also revealed that the Crichton estate had once considered making an ER reboot with ideas similar to The Pitt, such as real-time pacing. However, they eventually decided against this idea as it never appeared in ER itself. The original lawsuit accused the producers of breach of contract and alleged that The Pitt was created only because a deal to reboot NBC's medical drama fell through.
Case update
'The Pitt' has been renewed for a 3rd season
The producers attempted to dismiss the estate's complaint under California's anti-SLAPP statute, designed to protect free speech from frivolous lawsuits. However, a trial judge denied this motion, stating that the estate's claims had enough merit to proceed. The producers then appealed, arguing that the trial court didn't apply the correct standard. Meanwhile, The Pitt has been renewed for a third season on Max with production set to begin in June.