HBO and Max Boss Casey Bloys Says Crichton Estate ‘ER’ Lawsuit Shouldn’t Impact Rollout of Medical Drama ‘The Pitt’

variety.com:

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large HBO and Max head Casey Bloys has responded to the estate of Michael Crichton, and its lawsuit arguing that the upcoming Max series “The Pitt” is an unauthorized reboot of “ER,” telling reporters he doesn’t expect it to have an impact on the show’s early 2025 rollout. “I’m sure I’m not supposed to talk about active litigation, but I will say the idea that a show can’t be set in an ER seems kind of unrealistic on its face, that no other show can be set in a hospital emergency room,” he told reporters on Tuesday at an HBO and Max press conference. “I mean, it’s kind of a staple on television.

I don’t anticipate impacts on the show itself, but I’ll leave that to the Warner Bros. lawyers.” Last week Warner Bros. filed a motion to throw out the lawsuit filed by Crichton’s widow, Sherri, arguing that the two shows are distinct and the lawsuit is doomed to fail. “‘The Pitt’ is a completely different show from ‘ER,’” the motion stated. “Plaintiff cannot use Mr.

Crichton’s ‘ER’ contract as a speech-stifling weapon to prevent Defendants from ever making a show about emergency medicine.” “ER” was based on an original pilot script that Crichton wrote about his own experiences as a medical student.

The Crichton estate sued in August, accusing exec producer John Wells of a “personal betrayal,” claiming that he and star Noah Wyle came up with “The Pitt” after the Crichton estate blocked their plans to reboot “ER.” “‘The Pitt’ is ‘ER,’” the lawsuit states. “It’s not like ‘ER.’ It’s not kind of ‘ER.’ It’s not sort of ‘ER.’ It is ‘ER’ with the exact same executive producer, writer, star, production companies, studio and network as the planned ‘ER’ reboot.” At the time, Warner Bros.