Michael Crichton estate files lawsuit against alleged ER reboot

Michael Crichton’s widow files a lawsuit against Warner Bros, alleging new Noah Wyle series is an unauthorized ER reboot.

Noah Wyle played Dr. John Carter for over a decade on ER, the popular medical drama series created by the late Michael Crichton. Wyle is set to return to the medical genre for The Pitt, a new series set to debut on Max sometime next year. However, Deadline reports that Crichton’s widow, Sherri, has filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. Television, John Wells, Noah Wyle, R. Scott Gemmill, and others, alleging that The Pitt is nothing more than an unauthorized reboot of ER.

“‘The Pitt’ is ‘ER,’” states the lawsuit. “It’s not like ‘ER.’ It’s not kind of ‘ER.’ It’s not sort of ‘ER.’ It is ‘ER’ with the exact same executive producer, writer, star, production companies, studio and network as the planned ‘ER’ reboot.” There were reportedly plans for a proper ER reboot in 2020, with the studio in negotiations with Crichton’s estate for nearly a year before talks broke down. The ER reboot was going to move forward anyway, but now refused to offer proper credit to Michael Crichton. Sherri then asserted Crichton’s “frozen rights” provision, which “prohibits WBTV from proceeding with any sequels, remakes, spinoffs, or other derivative productions based on ER without Crichton’s express consent.“

Sherri then fought for Crichton to get a “created by” credit on the show, but talks broke down once again, with the lawsuit alleging that John Wells, Noah Wyle, and Warner Bros. Television elected to change the series’ name in order to cut the Crichton estate out of the deal. “Rather than afford Crichton the ‘created by’ credit he deserved, Defendants would pretend their reboot was not his creation at all,” the suit alleges, “thereby enriching themselves to the tune of millions of dollars — potentially hundreds of millions or several billion dollars in success — and depriving Crichton’s heirs of their rightful share.” The suit takes particular aim at Wells, who served as the showrunner for the first six seasons of ER and was the executive producer throughout its entire 15-season run. The suit blasts his actions as “a personal betrayal of a 30-year friendship” with Michael Crichton.

“If Warner Bros. can do this to Michael Crichton, one of the industry’s most successful and prolific creators who made the studio billions over the course of their partnership, no creator is safe,” said a spokesperson for Sherri Crichton in a statement. “While litigation is never the preferred course of action, contracts must be enforced, and Michael Crichton’s legacy must be protected.“