The Pitt may have earned a shelf full of awards, but its latest legal development has dragged the medical drama back into a rather uncomfortable comparison with ER. An appeals court has ruled that Michael Crichton’s widow can continue pursuing her lawsuit against Warner Bros. Television, arguing that the two shows share enough similarities to warrant a trial.

The Emmy-winning series has become one of television’s biggest success stories, but its origins have remained under scrutiny ever since Sherri Crichton alleged that it was essentially an unauthorized revival of her late husband’s iconic medical drama. Now, the courtroom battle is far from over.

According to Variety, the appeals court found that The Pitt and ER share “clear and numerous similarities,” including their emergency-room settings, rapid pacing, medical jargon, graphic injuries, and exhausted medical staff. The court also pointed to the presence of a young, inexperienced doctor fresh out of medical school.

The ruling found that these details were sufficient to establish a prima facie case, allowing Michael Crichton’s widow to move forward with her lawsuit against Warner Bros. Television.

"We find the details here suffice for a prima facie case," the court said.

The dispute centers on a 1994 agreement between Crichton and Warner Bros. that reportedly required mutual approval for any ER spin-offs, remakes, or derivative works. Sherri Crichton filed her lawsuit in 2024, claiming that The Pitt was developed from an abandoned ER reboot plan without her approval.

However, the court dismissed claims against Noah Wyle, John Wells, and R. Scott Gemmill, finding no evidence that they knew they could be violating Crichton’s contractual rights, as Variety has reported. The case will now proceed toward trial unless the parties settle.

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And while the legal drama continues behind the scenes, the show itself is preparing to clock in for another exhausting shift.

HBO has already renewed The Pitt for a third season, with the medical drama scheduled to return in January 2027. Production began in June 2026, and the upcoming season will once again follow the show’s signature real-time format, unfolding over a single hospital shift.

Noah Wyle is returning as Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, alongside familiar faces including Patrick Ball, Katherine LaNasa, Taylor Dearden, Isa Briones, Gerran Howell, Shabana Azeez, and Sepideh Moafi. Ayesha Harris is also joining the main cast as Dr. Parker Ellis.

Season 3 is expected to take place in early November, several months after the events of Season 2, bringing a fresh set of medical emergencies and personal complications to Pittsburgh’s emergency department. With another season on the way and a courtroom battle looming, The Pitt has plenty to deal with. Apparently, the ER’s patients are not the only ones facing a long and complicated recovery.

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Do you think The Pitt and ER has similarities? Let us know in the comments.