Warner Bros. TV sued over Michael Crichton’s “The Pitt”

Warner Bros. Television HE Suspicion of a resurrection of this doppelganger has sparked a lawsuit by the estate of Michael Crichton, the owner of the rights to the medical drama by the prolific author of technology thrillers who was responsible for numerous Hollywood blockbusters.

Crichton's estate accused Warners and a trio in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court HE Graduates of repackaging plans for a series restart as The Pitt after failing to secure the rights due to a dispute over a credits credit that named the author as the show's creator. It alleges a “pattern of behavior” by the studio aimed at circumventing Crichton's rights to franchises he created, including Westworld.

Earlier this year, Max ordered 15 episodes for the series The Pittwith Noah Wyle in the leading role and comes from HE Duo John Wells and R. Scott Gemmill – all named in the complaint, which describes the series as “a realistic examination of the challenges facing healthcare workers in today's America, seen through the lens of frontline heroes working in a modern Pittsburgh hospital.”

Gemmill was executive producer of more than half HEwhich includes 330 episodes in 15 seasons, served as showrunner of the series, which comes from John Wells Productions and Warner Bros. TV. The now discontinued HE Restart and The Pitt have the same executive producers, the same star, the same writer, the same production companies, the same studio and the same network.

According to the complaint, Sherri Crichton, the author's widow, received an offer letter from WBTV to revive the series in 2022. She says the studio refused to negotiate Crichton's creation and was told it “just wasn't going to happen.”

Crichton had obtained a so-called “Frozen Rights” clause, which excludes any productions that HE without his consent, the suit alleges. The estate enforced those rights, resulting in an agreement with Wells that credits Crichton as the series' creator. This was backed by a $5 million personal guarantee from him and his production company if the show didn't go ahead.

However, when WBTV resumed negotiations, the company backed out of the agreement and pushed for a deal with terms that were less financially favorable for the company, the lawsuit says.

WBTV's “work on an ER reboot should have been terminated,” the complaint states.

Instead, The Pitt The filmmakers pushed the project forward, the lawsuit says. And in a maneuver designed to undermine Crichton's rights, they moved the setting from a city hospital in Chicago to one in Pittsburgh, the lawsuit says.

Crichton's estate is making several claims against Warners, which did not respond to a request for comment, for the alleged breach of contract. It is seeking a court order preventing infringements of the author's rights to HE.

In addition, the estate criticizes WBTV's refusal to credit Crichton as the author in the HBO show “Created By.” Westworldwhich was adapted from the 1973 film of the same name, which he created, wrote and directed. Instead, he was given a “based on” credit that appears in the end credits of the show. In that film, Crichton, who also Andromeda – Deadly dust from space And Jurassic Parkdid not have the same legal protection that he later had in connection with HE.

In a 2023 email to Wyle, Sherri Crichton described her treatment by Warners as “appalling and disrespectful.” In another message to Wells, she said the studio “minimizes[d] and eliminate[d]“the contributions of her late husband to a variety of other successful projects.”

Wyle, Wells and Gemmill began researching a HE reboot that would pick up where the series left off in 2020. Original plans called for the series to depict the collapse of the city's hospital health care system due to COVID-19, substance abuse and chronic homelessness, with Wyle reprising his role as the now-experienced doctor. NBCUniversal expressed interest in 2022, which led to WBTV making a formal offer on “favorable terms for HBO Max” without Crichton's estate being informed of the deal, according to the complaint.

In the 331 episodes of the series HE was nominated for 124 Emmys and won 23. After its premiere in September 1994, it was quickly moved to the coveted Thursday night slot, where it remained for 15 years, which was LA Law at that time.