Sherri Crichton just won another round in her legal war over whether "The Pitt" is a secret "ER" reboot. A California appeals court ruled this week that the hit HBO Max medical drama is similar enough to the show her late husband, Michael Crichton, co-created that her lawsuit against Warner Bros. Television can continue.

A three-judge panel found "clear and numerous similarities" between the two shows, concluding that the details Crichton's estate presented "suffice for a prima facie case" — legal shorthand for clearing the bar needed to keep the suit alive. The ruling is a defeat for Warner Bros., executive producer John Wells, showrunner Scott Gemmill and star Noah Wyle, all named as defendants.

A decades-old deal at the center of it all

"ER" ran on NBC from 1994 to 2009, racking up nearly two dozen Emmys and launching Wyle's career as the boyish Dr. John Carter. Michael Crichton, who died in 2008, co-created the show; his widow argues a 1994 agreement barred the studio from developing new "ER"-derived material without the estate's permission. Sherri Crichton says Warner Bros. quietly began developing "The Pitt" in 2020, that she didn't learn of it until 2022, and that talks over terms collapsed before the show moved forward anyway — which is why she sued in August 2024.

"CLEAR AND NUMEROUS SIMILARITIES."

Both shows do, on their face, share obvious DNA: a close-knit ensemble of doctors grinding through chaos in a big-city emergency room, with Wyle headlining both. "The Pitt" swaps Chicago for Pittsburgh and has built its own identity since premiering in January 2025, winning 11 Emmys across its first two seasons — including two best-actor trophies for Wyle himself.

Free speech defense falls short, for now

Warner Bros. had tried to kill the case under California's anti-SLAPP law, which shields defendants from lawsuits that target protected speech. A trial judge rejected that motion in 2025, and the studio appealed — arguing the lower court botched the legal definition of a "derivative work" under copyright law. The appeals court wasn't persuaded, siding with Crichton and sending the case back toward further proceedings rather than a quick dismissal.

In a podcast interview before the ruling, Wyle said walking away from an actual "ER" revival "liberated the storytelling," letting "The Pitt" focus on present-day hospital crises rather than revisiting old characters. Representatives for Crichton, Warner Bros., Wyle, Wells and Gemmill did not immediately comment on the appellate decision.