US drama The Pitt is similar enough to medical series ER for a lawsuit against its producers to progress, a court in the US has ruled.
The widow of Michael Crichton, who created ER, argues The Pitt is effectively a reboot of the series, which has been made without proper permission or credit.
Sherri Crichton says her husband’s contract included a “frozen rights” provision that prohibited any spin-offs, sequels or reboots of ER being made without his express consent.
A three-judge panel said there are “clear and numerous similarities between The Pitt and ER,” which means the case can go ahead. Warner Bros previously described the lawsuit as “baseless” and sought to have it dismissed.
Listing the similarities between the two shows, the court cited the emergency room setting, the fast pace, use of medical jargon, graphic depictions of injuries, and younger doctors fresh from medical school being trained.
“We find the details here suffice for a prima facie case,” the judges said.
It means the case will now go to a jury trial in Los Angeles Superior Court.
I would argue that just because you wanted to do a reboot and then couldn’t do reboot and did something else instead isn’t really evidence in and of itself.
Star Wars was of course supposed to be a flash Gordon reboot but no one seems to care about that.
If I pitch a cop drama that doesn’t get made does that prohibit me as a producer from ever having anything to do with cop dramas ever again? I have to stick to musicals for the rest of my life and hope that one of those never gets denied.