Unless you spent your formative years watching television in the mid ’90s, you may not remember the force of nature that was the groundbreaking medical program, “ER.” Created by author Michael Crichton, the show debuted in 1994, and was a ratings juggernaut for years.
It helps that the creator of “ER” had become attached to Steven Spielberg thanks in no small part to their “Jurassic Park” success. Considering the television industry’s love of reboots and revivals, it should come as little shock to hear that Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) wanted to bring the show back. Negotiations for a revisit apparently failed, but according to Crichton’s widow Sherri Crichton, WBD went ahead with a reboot anyway, but under a new series name to skirt contract law.
Previously, former “ER” star Noah Wyle had announced an attempt to bring the hit series back in some form. These plans didn’t come together. So, Wyle and original “ER” producer Scott Gemmill, as well as producer, director, and writer John Wells later announced a different medical drama series called “The Pitt.” The new show focuses on the lives and drama of people working in a frontline hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. The issue with this, according to Sherri Crichton, is “The Pitt” came together a mere two days after she denied the rights for Warner Bros. Discovery to proceed with an “ER” revival.
According to Crichton, the rights to “ER” are in a frozen status. When Wells contacted her about the project happening, she “immediately asked to see Michael’s contract and saw that he shared a ‘frozen rights’ provision with Steven Spielberg and Warner Bros., meaning that nothing beyond ‘ER‘ — no sequels, spinoffs, or anything else derivative of the original series (including characters) — could proceed except with the express consent of all three parties.”
Since Crichton died in 2008, it would be his estate that would need to sign-off. Meaning his widow, Sherri, would need to agree. She says negotiations for the revival started in 2022 in good faith, but she was hesitant given what she felt was poor treatment of her late husband’s name and credit by WBD. She cited HBO’s “Westworld” not giving Michael the various credits he deserved. Negotiations eventually stalled.
Crichton pinpoints the day of April 11th, 2023 when things started to crumble for the project. Warner Bros. allegedly presented her with a contract which needed to be signed that day so that WBD head David Zaslav could announce the reboot as part of the rebranding from HBO MAX to MAX. Sherri declined the contract with such a short timetable to fully examine it. According to her, “negotiations did resume a few months later, but the promise to give Michael created by credit was gone. That was a non-starter for me.”
She says 72 hours after declining the contract for an “ER” revival,” “The Pitt” was announced, with Noah Wyle to star and Wells to produce alongside Gemmill. Sherri Crichton has since filed suit against WBD for contract violations.
The question now is if this new program is actually infringing on “ER,” or if it stands as a wholly new creation. Crichton feels strongly that it’s an attempt to get around rights issues while WBD accuses Sherri of “speech-stifling,” and that “The Pitt” has every right to exist like any other show about emergency medicine.
“Ms. Crichton’s lawsuit against WBD lacks both factual and legal foundation. Ms. Crichton’s description of the timeline and content of our negotiations about a potential ER reboot are incorrect, and we strongly deny her allegations,” WBD said in a statement to Deadline. “Importantly, ‘The Pitt‘ does not include any ‘ER‘ intellectual property and is no more similar to ‘ER‘ than is ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ ‘Chicago Med,’ or any of the countless other hospital medical dramas that have aired since or before ER.”
Sherri fired back.
“We read the pilot script. ‘The Pitt’ is not ‘St. Elsewhere,’ ‘Chicago Hope,’ ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ or ‘The Good Doctor.’ It is the same ‘ER‘ derivative that had been in development for more than two years but stripping the estate of credit and compensation for Michael’s signature creation. We then negotiated in good faith with Warner Bros. and John Wells for nearly a year. When they broke off negotiations last October, they told us the project was dead. Nobody wanted the show. Maybe we could revisit in 5-10 years. I believed them at the time. But the project wasn’t dead. They simply changed the name and moved it to Pittsburgh.
The case is not about whether someone can do a show set in a hospital. It is about whether Warner Bros., John Wells, Noah Wyle, and Scott Gemmill can spend two years developing an ER reboot, negotiate with the estate for nearly a year to obtain consent per Michael Crichton’s contract, and, when they can’t get the terms they want, proceed with the exact same show with a different title and location. Mr. [Casey] Bloys would have you believe that, within 72 hours of breaking off negotiations with the estate, the same creative team developed a completely new and original show that has nothing in common with ‘ER’ and the planned reboot beyond the fact that it is set in a hospital and stars Noah Wyle. That’s absurd on its face, and the facts prove otherwise. ‘The Pitt’ isn’t just another medical show. It is ‘ER.’”
It is worth noting even the official MAX social media accounts highlighted Wyle’s ‘return’ to a hospital.
“I’m very confident about our case. It may take some time but the ugly truth is going to come out,” Sherri said. “There will be a clear record of emails, text messages, contract drafts, and other critical documents and evidence that prove our case. This is not about *oh we are just doing another medical show.* This is about negotiating with the estate for nearly a year to reboot ‘ER’ and when Warner Bros. could not get the terms it wanted, turning around and doing the same show under another name. I am confident that when a jury hears the facts of this case they will find in our favor and send a message to Warner Bros. and other companies that this type of behavior is not acceptable. The truth will prevail and there have to be consequences.”
We’ll let you know what we hear about this and other news.
