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The Pitt producers heading to court with Michael Crichton estate over claims it is derivative of medical drama ER

An appeals court has cleared the way for a jury trial over the hit HBO Max drama.

Shawn Hatosy, Noah Wyle and Ken Kirby in The Pitt. They wear scrubs and each look with concern in the same direction.

Warrick Page/HBO Max

Published: Thursday, 5 November 2026 at 5:47 pm

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The long-running legal battle between the producers of hit medical drama The Pitt and the estate of ER creator Michael Crichton is now set for a jury trial, after a California appeals court cleared the case to proceed against Warner Bros Television (WBTV).

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In a 33-page ruling handed down this week, a panel of appeals court judges affirmed a lower court decision denying an anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) motion brought by WBTV. The outcome sends the Skydance-owned studio towards a trial in Los Angeles Superior Court over claims that the Emmy-winning HBO Max series is derivative of ER.

"The order of the trial court denying the anti-SLAPP motion as to WBTV is affirmed," the court said. "As to defendants other than WBTV, the order is reversed and the trial court is instructed to enter an order granting the motion and to dismiss those defendants.

"The parties will bear their own costs on appeal."

Anti-SLAPP motions are common in US law, acting as a legal tool that a defendant uses to quickly dismiss a meritless lawsuit. The court stressed that it had not decided The Pitt unlawfully copied ER, which now leaves that central question for further proceedings and, potentially, a jury.

The panel did cite a string of similarities between the two shows, including the emergency-room setting, fast pace, medical jargon, graphic injuries and an inexperienced young doctor.

Noah Wyle in The Pitt, wearing blue latex gloves and blue scrubs, with his arms folded, stood in a hospital room.

Noah Wyle in The Pitt. Warrick Page/HBO Max

The ruling also removes several figures from the litigation. Star Noah Wyle, an ER veteran himself, and Pitt executive producers John Wells and R Scott Gemmill have been dropped, with the court finding insufficient evidence that they knew they might violate Crichton's contractual rights. Even so, the producers could still surface on a witness list should the case reach trial.

The action was brought by Sherri Crichton on behalf of the John Michael Crichton Trust's Roadrunner JMTC. She first took the then yet-to-debut series into court in August 2024 in a breach of contract action, with the estate contending that the Pittsburgh-set drama was created by Wells, WBTV and others after negotiations to reboot the original medical drama collapsed.

While WBTV have not yet issued a statement on this recent development, they had previously said in 2024 that the lawsuit was "baseless" and argued that The Pitt was a "new and original show", adding that the studio would "vigorously defend against these meritless claims".

WBTV had previously sought to have this lawsuit dismissed on appeal, saying that ER and The Pitt shared only "generic similarities" common to "any dramatic story involving emergency room doctors".

Responding to the latest decision, Sherri Crichton told Deadline: "I am deeply gratified by the Appeals Court decision and look forward to discovery and our case which affects writers, creators and their families and estates being presented to a Jury."

The producers and WBTV had argued the opposite in an October 2025 appeal filing, which stated: "There was no evidence that The Pitt was made by copying from or using ER, so there was no evidence that The Pitt was 'derivative' of ER."

At a hearing on 8 September 2026, WBTV lawyer Ted Boutrous of Gibson Dunn argued that Sherri Crichton had sued before the show aired and had never seen it, telling judges: "This is exactly the kind of case that deserves a quick dismissal, because it's intruding on creative expression and free speech."

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The Pitt has continued to be an acclaimed hit for HBO Max since launching in early 2025 and production on its anticipated third season recently wrapped in Pittsburgh, with the new run set to arrive in January 2027.

Wyle leads a returning ensemble that includes Patrick Ball, Katherine LaNasa, Fiona Dourif, Taylor Dearden, Isa Briones, Gerran Howell, Shabana Azeez, Sepideh Moafi, Shawn Hatosy and Ayesha Harris.

The third run also brings in a batch of new cast members, among them Chris Diamantopoulos as chief medical officer Dr Asher Grossman and JB Tadena as physician Dr Reed Thomas, alongside fresh student doctors, a physician assistant and a run of guest patients.

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Authors

Black and white cut-out portrait headshot of Morgan Cormack, smiling against a lime green background

Morgan CormackDrama Writer

Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.

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