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Hollywood has seen many twin films (films with the same core concept released within the year), but WB Television’sThe Pittseems to just be of the same genre asER. The emergency room-based medical drama has many key creatives from the George Clooney-starrer involved but they have maintained that the shows have nothing in common.
Developed by Michael Crichton,ERwas one of the most beloved medical procedurals and saw several stars such as Don Cheadle, Leslie Bibb, Glenn Howerton, and Mariska Hargitay make their initial appearances. Despite the estate of Crichton filing a lawsuit against the production, the makers have stressed thatThe Pittis different fromER.
The Pitt’s producers detail how they worked hard to make the emergency ward more realistic
The medical drama genre is making a comeback with shows likeChicago Medand thelong-running seriesGrey’s Anatomy. Netflix is reportedly also debuting its medical procedural showPulseon its platform soon. However, Max seems to have gotten there first as the showThe Pittwas released earlier in January to positive responses.
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Set in an emergency ward in Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital, the USP ofThe Pittis reportedly the setting of the show in real-time and its realistic treatment. The key creatives behind the show have been involved in theGeorge Clooney-starrerERand coming from that experience, have made several changes to the treatment.
Showrunner Scott Gemmill mentioned in an interview withThe Wrapthat they went to painstaking lengths to give the show a realistic treatment and even depicted some actual medical procedures. He talked about the similarities withERon which he was EP,
I don’t ever want to do the same thing twice, nor do John [Wells, producer] or Noah [Wyle]… There’s no incentive there. As far as medical shows go, ‘The Pitt’ is as different as we could have made it, everything from characters to the location to our set design and how we shot it to make it a completely new show.
The makers reportedly crafted the set to resemble modern-day emergency rooms and even used some real doctors and nurses as background extras to add authenticity to the show.
DespiteThe Pittdenying similarities, the estate ofER’s creator filed a lawsuit
Network TV is filled with procedural dramas and many times they follow similar core structures. Take shows likeCastle, Psych, Monk,and other detective procedurals, the only differences seem to be the case itself and the characteristics. However, there is a fine line between genre tropes and copyright infringement.
The Max medical dramaThe Pittseems to have found itself in a pit of legal troubles as the estate of Michael Crichton has reportedly filed a lawsuit against the makers. Crichton (yes, ofJurassic Parkfame) was the creator ofERand the suit reportedly accusedThe Pitt’s producers of turning a potential spinoff into an original without their involvement (viaDeadline).
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The suit has reportedly named creator Scott Gemmill, actor and EP Noah Wyle, and producer John Wells, along with Warner Bros. Television, all of whom were involved inER. However, the studio dismissed the Crichton estate’s claims and stated (viaDeadline),
The Pitt is a completely different show from ER. Plaintiff cannot use Mr. Crichton’s ER contract as a speech-stifling weapon to prevent Defendants from ever making a show about emergency medicine.
According to the Crichton estate, the makers were discussing a potential spinoff ofERbut it was then turned intoThe Pitt, with the only exception being the setting of the show in Pittsburgh, the character of Noah Wyle, and the Crichton estate’s involvement.
The Pittis streaming on Max.
Nishanth A
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2416
Nishanth A is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 2,000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a scriptwriter at various corporations before that, working on educational content. With a Communications, English Literature, and Psychology triple major, Nishanth usually covers news and analyses on Star Trek, particularly Strange New Worlds and The Next Generation; Doctor Who, the DCU, and more.A Nolan fan, Nishanth spends his time exploring the filmographies of various directors with an auteurial style or can be found making short movies of his own. He has also contributed as a feature writer for Film Companion, focusing on the South division.
