‘ER’ and ‘The Pitt’ similarities warrant lawsuit, appeals court rules

A California appeals court has found that ER and The Pitt have enough similarity that a lawsuit brought by the widow and estate of ER creator Michael Crichton alleging The Pitt is an unauthorised reboot can move forward.

A three-judge panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled unanimously on Wednesday that the trial court judge was correct to reject a motion to throw out the case from The Pitt production company Warner Bros. Television, which also produced ER. But the judges dismissed Noah Wyle – the star of both shows and a producer on The Pitt – as a defendant along with two other producers who worked on both series.

The lawsuit is a clash between the makers of multiple Emmy-winning TV series that were each among the most important and acclaimed shows of their eras.