Is The Pitt Actually An ER Spin-Off? The Lawsuit, Explained

From 1994 to 2009, the groundbreaking medical drama "ER," created by "Jurassic Park" author Michael Crichton, enjoyed a 15 season and 331 episode run on NBC, becoming an enormous hit for the network and one of the most beloved shows in its history. Then, in 2025, a series called "The Pitt" premiered on Max with three "ER" veterans on board. Noah Wyle (who played Dr. John Carter on the NBC show for 11 seasons and returned for a few episodes during its final run) stars on "The Pitt" as Dr. Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, while "ER" producers John Wells and R. Scott Gemmill are also huge parts of the project. (Gemmill created the series and Wells serves as an executive producer.)

That's all just some context for you because, as it happens, Crichton's estate is pretty mad about the existence of "The Pitt" and what they allege is its intrinsic connection to "ER." According to a report in Rolling Stone from February 2025, Sherri Crichton, the widow of the late writer, cited a deal that her husband struck with Warner Bros. when he wrote the pilot for "ER" that any spin-offs would have to be approved by Crichton himself. She's further alleged that "The Pitt" is nothing more than a spin-off of "ER." Through her lawsuit, Mrs. Crichton said that Wyle, Gemmill, and Wells "simply moved the show from Chicago to Pittsburgh, rebranded it 'The Pitt,' and has plowed ahead without any attribution or compensation for Crichton and his heirs."

Okay, so this is tricky. The Crichton estate is clearly trying to argue that because Wyle, Gemmill, and Wells were all involved with "ER," they conceived "The Pitt" as a spin-off of that property and are disregarding not only MIchael Crichton's firmly stated wishes but also the financial dues Sherri Crichton believes are owed to the estate due to the mere existence of "The Pitt." So, does this hold water?

In August of 2024 (months before "The Pitt" even premiered on television), Sherri Crichton and the estate of Michael Crichton filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros., John Wells, Noah Wyle, R. Scott Gemmill, and a handful of other people involved with the then-upcoming Max series for "breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and intentional interference with contractual relations." A report in Deadline links directly to a PDF of the Crichton estate's lawsuit, which opens with a statement about how important creators are to Hollywood while also noting the fact that, to put it bluntly, studios sometimes screw these creators over: 

"But all too often, studios erase creators from their own creations, especially where those creations spawn sequels, spinoffs, reboots, or other derivative productions that owe their existence to the original work. That is morally, but not always legally, repugnant, because few creators have the stature to insist upon contractual protections for themselves and their heirs."

After saying that Michael Crichton wrote "ER" based on his own experiences at Harvard Medical School — and even based Wyle's character on himself — and that WB did hope to mount a reboot of "ER" at some point for Max, the lawsuit directly says, "'The Pitt' is 'ER.'  It's not like 'ER,' it's not kind of 'ER,' it's not sort of 'ER.'  It is 'ER' complete with the same executive producer, writer, star, production companies, studio, and network as the planned 'ER' reboot. No one has been fooled, with The Hollywood Reporter recognizing the reboot, now named 'The Pitt,' for what it actually is: 'ER' 2.0." (This is a reference to a March 2024 article in that outlet that, somewhat casually, referred to "The Pitt" as such.)

Just to further make the point, the lawsuit calls Wyle, Wells, and Gemmill's creation of their show "legally and morally repugnant," reflecting "a callous disregard for Crichton's inception of 'ER' and, in the case of Wells, a personal betrayal of a 30-year friendship." This is some strong wording. Ultimately, the defendants responded to the accusations.

Elsewhere in the original lawsuit, the team behind Michael Crichton's estate said, "Sherri Crichton was thrilled that the original team behind 'ER' wanted to do a reboot and was shocked when Warner Bros. abruptly broke off negotiations and announced 'The Pitt' — a carbon copy of the 'ER' reboot that was pitched to her. The Crichton Estate looks forward to presenting its case to a jury and is confident it will prevail." (At the beginning of the lawsuit, the Crichton estate made it clear that they do want this to go to a trial with a jury with the note "jury trial demanded.")

In another Deadline article that linked to a PDF of the defendants' motion to dismiss, Warner Bros. said, "Plaintiff says it has a contractual right to prohibit Defendants from making 'derivative works' of the medical drama 'ER,' and claims 'The Pitt' is such a 'derivative work.' Plaintiff is wrong because 'The Pitt' is not derivative of 'ER.' 'The Pitt' and 'ER' involve completely different characters, plots, settings, themes, and pacing. While they are both medical dramas set in hospitals, this does not make 'The Pitt' [a] 'derivative [work]' [...] Plaintiff does not own this generic concept, shared by numerous medical dramas set in hospitals that have aired before, during, and after 'ER'" (naming shows like "Grey's Anatomy," "House," and "Chicago Med" as examples).

In that earlier Rolling Stone piece, Noah Wyle made it quite clear that the intention behind "The Pitt" was not to simply make a spin-off of "ER." As the executive producer put it, "I do not see how 'The Pitt' could be deemed derivative of 'ER' because they are two entirely different shows. 'The Pitt' is a new medical drama I developed with John Wells and R. Scott Gemmill. 'The Pitt' is not in any way related to 'ER.'" In a separate statement obtained by Variety, also in February 2025, Wells stated: 

"'The Pitt' was not based on 'ER.' In fact, our goal at [John Wells Productions] while working on the project was to produce an entirely new medical drama that viewers would see as different from any other medical drama that has been on television to date. Our intent with 'The Pitt' is to examine and contribute to the public discussion on the challenges facing emergency medical providers in the post-COVID world."

I should note, first and foremost, that the lawsuit is ongoing as of this writing. Still, I've watched both shows; I'm a longtime fan of "ER," and I've been tuning into "The Pitt" every week since it premiered. So, as a viewer and admirer of both shows, maybe I can help break this down a little bit for the average viewer who isn't paying attention to various legal filings.

"ER" is a phenomenal series that set the stage for, frankly, shows like "Grey's Anatomy" more so than "The Pitt." Indeed, a disgruntled patient on "ER" stole a military tank and drove it in the direction of the fictional County General Hospital so that all sorts of wild emergencies could befall the also fictional Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in "Grey's" (née Seattle Grace Hospital). "The Pitt," meanwhile, honestly owes more of a creative debt to "24" thanks to the fact that it steals that show's "real-time" conceit. (Each episode of "The Pitt" is one hour of a long shift in the Pittsburgh-based hospital's emergency department.) And while there's obviously some heightening since it's a television show, "The Pitt" is pretty grounded and real, especially where the medicine depicted on-screen is concerned. 

Mind you, it's not surprising that the Crichton estate is taking legal action against "The Pitt," given how much people are drawing parallels between the series and "ER" in conversation. Truthfully, though, the shows have two major things in common: the involvement of Noah Wyle, John Wells, and R. Scott Gemmill, and the fact that both series are set in emergency rooms. Thankfully, "The Pitt" has been renewed for a second season at Max (it's really good and if you haven't already, you should watch it!), but still, this lawsuit could cause problems for production later down the road.

"ER" is available on both Hulu and Max. "The Pitt" streams exclusively on Max.