‘ER’ and ‘The Pitt’ are similar enough for lawsuit to move forward, appeals court finds

LOS ANGELES (AP) – A California appeals court has discovered 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.

What happened

For context, a three-judge panel from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled unanimously on Wednesday that the trial court judge was correct to reject a motion to throw out the case from "The Pitt" production firm Warner Bros. Television, which additionally produced "ER." But the judges dismissed Noah Wyle – the star of both shows and a producer on "The Pitt" – as a defendant along with two other producers who worked on both series.

In practice, the lawsuit is a clash between the makers of multiple Emmy-winning TV series that were each among the most significant and acclaimed indicates of their eras.

Crichton, the author of "Jurassic Park" and plenty of other novels that became hit movies and TV indicates, wrote the pilot script for "ER, " the NBC show regarding a Chicago emergency room that redefined the medical drama genre and drew tens of millions of weekly viewers in its run from 1994 to 2009.

The bottom line

For now, ER and The Pitt are similar enough for lawsuit to move forward, remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.