Why is Michael Crichton's estate suing Warner Bros. Television? Lawsuit over medical drama explored

The estate of Michael Crichton has filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. Television, accusing them of breach of contract over the reboot of the hit series “ER.” The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, August 27, 2024, in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims that the parties spent nearly one year unsuccessfully negotiating with Warner Bros. for the rights to reboot the medical drama.

However, when the parties did not reach any agreement, Warner Bros. shifted the show from Chicago to Pittsburgh, and rebranded it The Pitt, without providing any credit or compensation to Crichton’s estate. The complaint filed by Michael Crichton’s widow, Sherri, stated:

“The move is a callous disregard for Crichton’s inception of ‘ER,’ a personal betrayal of a 30-year friendship between the author and John Wells, the original series’ showrunner, and an effort to rob his heirs of the fruits of one of his greatest creations.”

Apart from Warner Bros., the lawsuit also mentions the names of Noah Wyle and producer John Wells. The complaint also states that many ER actors and people on the crew are also involved in the new show, a few names of whom are also mentioned in the lawsuit filed by the estate of Michael Crichton.

Michael Crichton’s ER ran for a total of 15 years, from September 1994 to April 2009. The show had a huge star cast, including Anthony Edwards, George Clooney, Sherry Stringfield, Noah Wyle, Julianne Margulies, Eriq La Salle, and even Maria Bello.

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“The lawsuit filed by the Michael Crichton Estate is baseless” - Warner Bros. Studio responds to the allegation made by the widow of the ER creator

As the estate of Michael filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. Studios for breach of contract, the studio was quick to reply to the complaint filed, as they claimed that the lawsuit was “baseless.” In a statement, the spokesperson for Warner Bros. claimed that The Pitt is a “new and original show,” as they said:

“The lawsuit filed by the Michael Crichton Estate is baseless, as ‘The Pitt’ is a new and original show. Any suggestion otherwise is false, and Warner Bros. Television intends to vigorously defend against these meritless claims.”

However, AP News reported that Sherri Crinchton’s spokesperson also talked about the lawsuit to the publication, and stated:

“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. While litigation is never the preferred course of action, contracts must be enforced, and Michael Crichton’s legacy must be protected.”

The lawsuit is now demanding the judge to issue an injunction so that the production of The Pitt can be stopped. Apart from this, AP also reported that the Estate of Crichton is demanding punitive and compensatory damages. Furthermore, Sherri also claimed that Warner Bros. started developing The Pitt without informing her.

The lawyers representing Crichton’s widow have also claimed that “The Pitt is ER,” as they wrote in the lawsuit:

“The Pitt is ER. It’s not like ER; it’s not a kind of ER. It is ER complete with the same executive producer, writer, star, production companies, studio, and network as the planned ER reboot.”

Crichton, born in October 1942, was best known for his novels, including The Great Train Robbery, Jurassic Park, Rising Sun, Prey, Next, The Lost World, Sphere and even State of Fear.