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The estate of ER creator Michael Crichton is suing Warner Bros Television, accusing their upcoming show The Pitt of being an unauthorized reboot of the hit emergency room drama.
Crichton’s estate, led by his widow Sherri, say they were in discussions with the studio about rebooting ER but failed to reach an agreement.
They have accused executive producer John Wells of a “personal betrayal,” arguing in the lawsuit that he and star Noah Wyle, who played Dr John Carter in ER, dreamed up The Pitt after the Crichton estate blocked plans to bring back the original show.
The lawsuit states: “The Pitt is ER. It’s not like ER. It’s not kind of ER. It’s not sort of ER. It is ER with the exact same executive producer, writer, star, production companies, studio and network as the planned ER reboot.”
Warner Bros Television quickly responded to the suit, calling it “baseless.”
“The lawsuit filed by the Crichton Estate is baseless, as The Pitt is a new and original show,” the studio said in a statement to Variety. “Any suggestion otherwise is false, and Warner Bros. Television intends to vigorously defend against these meritless claims.”
The Pitt will be set in Pittsburgh, while ER was set in Chicago. Along with Wells and Wyle, showrunner R Scott Gemmill is also an ER alum. All three are named as defendants in the suit.
Crichton, who died from cancer in 2008, was a wildly successful writer who also created Jurassic Park and Westworld. This track record enabled him to secure a “frozen rights” provision in his contract for ER, which prohibits Warner Bros from making sequels, remakes or spinoffs without the consent of his estate.
In a statement to The Associated Press, a spokesperson for Sherri Crichton said: “If Warner Bros can do this to Michael Crichton, one of the industry’s most successful and prolific creators who made the studio billions over the course of their partnership, no creator is safe.
“While litigation is never the preferred course of action, contracts must be enforced, and Michael Crichton’s legacy must be protected.”
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The Crichton estate filed the lawsuit on Tuesday (August 27) in Los Angeles Superior Court, and is asking the judge to issue an injunction that would force the studio to halt production on The Pitt. They are also seeking punitive and compensatory damages.
