‘The Pitt’ and ‘ER’ Are Similar Enough to Allow Crichton Suit, Appeals Court Rules
An appeals court ruled on Wednesday that “The Pitt” is similar enough to “ER” to allow Michael Crichton’s widow to pursue a lawsuit over the Emmy-winning show. In a unanimous opinion, a three-judge panel denied an appeal from Warner Bros. Television, which has argued that the two shows are unrelated. “There are clear…
Covered by 4 sources from 2 countries. First reported by Deadline ·
How 4 newspapers cover this story
‘The Pitt’s Battle With Michael Crichton Estate Heading To Trial As Warner Bros Rebuffed By Appeal Court
The Pitt is deep into production for its upcoming third season, but the Noah Wylie starring Emmy winning drama will have to scrub up for court next year too. Two months after hearing arguments for Pitt producers and the Michael Crichton Estate over whether the HBO Max series is derivative of ER, a panel of
‘The Pitt’ and ‘ER’ Are Similar Enough to Allow Crichton Suit, Appeals Court Rules
An appeals court ruled on Wednesday that “The Pitt” is similar enough to “ER” to allow Michael Crichton’s widow to pursue a lawsuit over the Emmy-winning show. In a unanimous opinion, a three-judge panel denied an appeal from Warner Bros. Television, which has argued that the two shows are unrelated. “There are clear…
The Pitt and ER are similar enough for Michael Crichton’s widow’s lawsuit to proceed, court rules
Court finds ‘clear and numerous similarities’ between two medical dramas, allowing lawsuit by ER creator’s widow Sherri to go to jury trial in 2027 The Pitt is similar enough to ER to allow Michael Crichton’s widow to pursue a long-running lawsuit over the award-winning medical drama, a US appeals court has ruled. In…
Appeals Court Says Lawsuit Over ‘The Pitt’ Can Proceed, Cites ‘Numerous’ Similarities to ‘ER’
The lawsuit from Michael Crichton's estate claims Warner Bros' hit medical drama is derivative of Crichton’s 1990s TV show set in a hospital emergency room
Coverage details
4 outlets from 2 countries are covering this story: Deadline, Variety, The Guardian and Rolling Stone. Deadline published it first, on November 4, 2026; the last outlet to join was Rolling Stone, 6 hours later.
Key names in the coverage: Michael Crichton, Pitt and Warner Bros.
By country: United States (3), United Kingdom (1).
