Except this time, that source of outrage is found within the walls of a new hospital drama, The Pitt. Critics are calling it an unauthorized reboot of the prestigious NBC drama ER. The series, which takes place in a not-so-fictional Pittsburgh hospital, starred Noah Wyle as the grizzly _Attending_the_ medical professional Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch. Wyle executive produced The Pitt in addition to starring on ER as Dr. John Carter. From the start, this project has sparked myriad legal challenges and attracted tremendous public outcry.
The Pitt started shooting in 2020, almost 16 years to the day that ER aired its final episode. Created by R. Scott Gemmill, the series follows undercover son of the boss Steven (Shane McRae). John Wells produced it and he did much to create ER’s critical mass. At first, it seemed like they were planning to produce a reboot of ER to air on HBO Max. When those plans didn’t work out, The Pitt was born.
In recent weeks, a lawsuit has emerged alleging that The Pitt is essentially a copy of ER, claiming that it retains the same core elements and creative team. The lawsuit rather sensationally declares, “The Pitt is ER. It’s not like ER or sort of ER; it is ER. Just like the same executive producer, writer, star, production companies, studio and network behind the proposed ER reboot.”
Warner Bros. Television has denied the allegations, describing them as “meritless.” The company disputed in the strongest terms that the claims are baseless in fact and law. Further, they noted that the timeline and public reporting of negotiations around a possible ER reboot have been wildly inaccurate. They emphasized that “The Pitt does not include any ER intellectual property and is no more similar to ER than is Grey’s Anatomy, Chicago Med, or any of the countless other hospital medical dramas that have aired since or before ER.”
As the legal drama played out, Noah Wyle took to the Washington indiefilmnews.com to voice his frustration over what was happening. He told WaPo, “This sullies the legacy, and it didn’t have to. At any time in the past, this might have been an ideal partnership. And even when it wasn’t a partnership, it didn’t necessarily have to become acrimonious. And Wyle hit hard on their desire to be innovators. He said of that creative decision, “We turned the other way as much as we could to create the narrative that we wanted to create. It wasn’t for legal reasons, we just didn’t want to do our own creative again.
Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch shares many characteristics with Wyle’s old ER character Dr. John Carter. Critics of the show have claimed that the character sufficiently continues Carter’s legacy, albeit “in all but name.” As they argue, this experienced doc—30 years on—epitomizes the fascinating and fruitful lessons the original series has to offer.
As this odd dispute continues to play out, both sides are digging in their heels. Warner Bros. stated that they would defend against the lawsuit vigorously and considered it part of their “constitutionally protected act of free speech.”
The debate over The Pitt touches on arguments about originality in TV and how far the line between inspiration and imitation stretches. With audiences eager to see what comes next, the reimagined series’ debut is one of the most awaited in years, especially from fans of NBC’s original ER.