‘ER’ and ‘The Pitt’ are similar enough for lawsuit to move forward, appeals court finds
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California appeals court has found that “ER” and “The Pitt” have enough similarity that a lawsuit brought by the widow and estate of “ER” creator Michael Crichton alleging “The Pitt” is an unauthorized reboot can move forward.
A California appeals court has ruled that the TV shows "ER" and "The Pitt" are similar enough that a lawsuit filed by Michael Crichton's widow alleging "The Pitt" is an unauthorized reboot can proceed. The three-judge panel from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal unanimously agreed with the trial court judge who rejected a motion to dismiss the case from Warner Bros.
Television, the production company behind both series. The lawsuit, filed by Sherri Crichton, accuses "The Pitt" of being a rebranded version of an unauthorized "ER" reboot that she had previously rejected. Crichton, a prolific author and creator of medical dramas, wrote the pilot script for "ER," which ran from 1994 to 2009 and was among the most acclaimed shows of its era.
Sherri Crichton's lawsuit alleges that a "frozen rights" provision in her husband's contract prohibits Warner Bros. from producing any sequels, remakes, or spinoffs of "ER" without his consent, or his estate's consent after his death in 2008.
Written by urgent.news from CityNews's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
