(Bloomberg) -- The family of the late author and screenwriter Michael Crichton sued Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., saying a new TV drama in the works at the company is a “shameful” repackaging of his long-running hit ER.
The series, which ran for 15 seasons starting in 1994, was based on a screenplay by Crichton. His widow, Sherri, said in the suit that Warner Bros. reached out to her about a reboot of the medical drama in late 2022. She said she ultimately negotiated a “created by” credit for her late husband and a $5 million guarantee from producer John Wells.
Warner Bros. later reneged on the deal, she claims. The studio announced in March that it had ordered 15 episodes of a new series called The Pitt and focused on workers in an emergency room of a major US city. Many of the characters and writers, including Wells, are the same as those on ER, according to the complaint filed in state court in Los Angeles.
“The Pitt is ER,” according to the suit. “It’s not like ER, it’s not kind of ER, it’s not sort of ER.”
Warner Bros. said the suit is “baseless, as The Pitt is a new and original show.”
“Any suggestion otherwise is false, and Warner Bros. Television intends to vigorously defend against these meritless claims,” according to a statement by the company.
Lawsuits seeking compensation and credit are a regular feature in Hollywood. Paramount Global prevailed in a case involving its hit film Top Gun: Maverick this year.
Though Crichton been dead since 2008, his work is having a revival. Twisters, a reboot of his 1996 film, was a hit for Universal Pictures this summer, with Warner Bros. distributing it internationally. Author James Patterson also finished a manuscript by Crichton turning Eruption into a bestseller this year. Crichton, a doctor by training, was perhaps best known for the book and film series Jurassic Park.
(Updates with Warner Bros. comment)
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