Lawyers for Max’s “The Pitt” submitted a final briefing Monday in an attempt to defeat claims that the Emmy-winning show is a knockoff of “ER.” This marks the most recent development in a lawsuit brought by “ER” creator Michael Crichton’s estate against Warner Bros. in 2024.
In a reply brief submitted Monday night, the defendants — who also include producer John Wells and actor Noah Wyle — describe the proposition that “The Pitt” is a “derivative work of the “ER” as “baseless.”
“Plaintiff seeks to kill ‘The Pitt’ — and claims it should never have aired — based on a plainly incorrect misreading of a single phrase in a 1994 contract that gave Crichton approval rights over ‘derivative works’ of ‘ER,’” the reply brief reads.
Citing a lack of sufficient evidence, defendants’ state that “‘The Pitt’ contains no protected elements from ‘ER’: aside from sharing a genre (hospital drama) and certain unprotectable, genre-specific tropes, like the use of medical jargon, the two shows are nothing alike.
“Wyle certainly does not play the same character,” it added.
The defendants’ also state that the the Crichton estate filed this lawsuit before “The Pitt” even debuted and that the estate had “at one point considered, but ultimately abandoned, the idea of making an ‘ER’ reboot that shared certain ideas with ‘The Pitt’ — such as real-time pacing — that never appeared in ‘ER’ itself.”
The initial lawsuit accuses the producers of breach of contract, and claims that “The Pitt” was only created because a deal between the parties to reboot the NBC medical drama fell apart.
The producers tried to throw out the estate’s complaint under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, which is intended to protect free speech against frivolous litigation. A trial judge denied the motion, saying the estate’s claims had enough merit to proceed.
The producers appealed, arguing that the trial court did not apply the correct standard and that under the anti-SLAPP statute, the plaintiff’s claims must be struck unless they are found to be “both legally viable and supported admissible evidence.”
The case now awaits oral argument before the appellate court.
“The Pitt,” which earned 13 nominations for its first season last year, finished airing its second season last month. The show has been renewed for a third season on Max, with production slated to begin in June.
Source: variety.com
