Warner Bros. TV describes the claim that “The Pitt” is a copy of “ER” as “unfounded”

Warner Bros. TV has responded to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by Michael Crichton's widow, calling the litigation “meritless.” The company argues that the studio's upcoming medical drama “The Pitt” is very different from “ER.”

“The Crichton estate's lawsuit is without merit as 'The Pitt' is a new and original show,” the studio said in a statement. “Any claim to the contrary is false and Warner Bros. Television intends to vigorously defend itself against these baseless claims.”

Warner Bros.' swift response came after the Crichton estate accused executive producer John Wells of “personal betrayal,” claiming he and star Noah Wyle came up with “The Pitt” after the Crichton estate blocked their plans for an “ER” reboot. “'The Pitt' is 'ER,'” the lawsuit says. “It's not like 'ER.' It's not kind of 'ER.' It's not kind of 'ER.' It's 'ER,' with the exact same executive producer, writer, star, production companies, studio and network as the planned 'ER' reboot.”

But this is where the two sides disagree. Insiders point out that the real similarity between ER and The Pitt is that the series is set in an emergency room and stars Noah Wyle. Beyond that, however, Wells focuses on different themes and sets a different tone than ER.

Not only is it clear that the plot structure will be different in each episode, but the look, feel and sound of the show will likely take a very different direction from ER. ER will take place in Pittsburgh, not the hospital in Chicago. There will also be no recurring characters and no ER iconography.

The series will run on the streamer Max for 15 episodes, instead of the originally planned 22 (or more) seasons of “ER” on NBC – and broadcasting on a streamer means that “The Pitt” will also address more explicit topics.

“Another advantage of making these shows for streaming is that you don’t have to adhere to the same broadcast standards,” Wells said diversity in May for a story about streamers betting more on procedural programming. “There's a willingness to have a more adult version of what was possible on broadcast television under the FCC rules. One of the things that excited us about 'The Pitt' is that we were able to tell medical stories that actually deal with what really happens in a hospital — and how people actually interact with the health care system… I think you'll see that you can bring a very sophisticated version of these programs, both visually and in the narrative, to streaming platforms.”

Insiders confirm that Wells originally approached Warner Bros. TV about re-examining the medical field in the post-COVID era and discussing what happened to hospitals and emergency rooms during and after the pandemic – topics other than “ER.” The original plan was to re-examine the “ER” franchise, but when a deal failed to materialize with Crichton's estate, producers and the studio decided to move forward with developing a medical drama without the “ER” franchise or its legacy.

Others have pointed out that medical crime dramas are not uncommon on television — the year “ER” premiered on NBC, another hospital drama set in the Windy City, “Chicago Hope,” aired directly across the street on CBS.

Wyle stars in the series about the “frontline heroes working at a modern-day Pittsburgh hospital,” according to the official logline. Also starring are Tracy Ifeachor (“Treason,” “Showtrial”), Patrick Ball (“Law & Order,” “The XIXth”), Supriya Ganesh (“Grown-ish,” “Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game”), Fiona Dourif (“Child's Play” franchise, “The Blacklist”), Taylor Dearden (“American Vandal,” “Sweet/Vicious”), Isa Briones (“Star Trek: Picard,” “Goosebumps”), Gerran Howell (“Suspicion,” “Catch-22”), Shabana Azeez (“In Limbo,” “Birdeaters”) and Katherine LaNasa (“The Campaign,” “Truth Be Told”).

R. Scott Gemmill will write the first episode and executive produce the series with Wyle; John Wells of John Wells Productions (JWP); and Erin Jontow, Simran Baidwan and Michael Hissrich of JWP. The studio is Warner Bros. Television, with whom JWP has an overall deal.