Even though The Pitt is in post-production with over million views from the official trailer of season three, the multi Emmy-award winning show will have to now appear in court as well. The appeals court judges has agreed that there are similarities between ER and The Pitt.
The legal battle surrounding The Pitt and ER was first brought up last year. Now, the show will now enter a jury trial in the Los Angeles Superior Court. It has been argued that the The Pitt is a possible spin-off of ER, and the producers will have to go to court. The trial may possibly start early next summer, unless both parties decide to settle before next year. This legal battle comes with widow Sherri Crichton (Eruption, Dragon Teeth: A Novel), who was married to the original ER creator, Michael Crichton (Westworld, Jurassic Park). When Crichton created ER, he had a contract with Warner Bros. Television that had “frozen rights”, that essentially blocks the studio from any spinoffs or reboots without Crichton’s approval. His widow had officially filed the lawsuit months in advance of the series premiere.
The Pitt has won over 11 Emmy awards, including big wins like Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Casting, across both seasons of the show.
It has been noted that lead star of The Pitt, Noah Wyle (Falling Skies, The Librarians) has been officially dropped from litigation, along with executive producer John Wells (Burnt, The Company Men) and R. Scott Gemmill (NCIS: Los Angeles, JAG). Gemmill is the official showrunner and creator of the hit medical drama. These individuals were dismissed from the case, due to appearing to have no evidence that they were aware of the violation in the original agreement, the official contract rights, of what Crichton is implying in the lawsuit.
The Pitt season three official teaser trailer premiered two months ago. Season three will premiere on HBO Max on January 2027 with a release of 15 episodes for the season, with each new episode premiering weekly. All 30 episodes total combining season one and Season two of The Pitt is available to watch now, streaming on HBO Max.