‘The Pitt’s Battle With Michael Crichton Estate Heading To Trial As Warner Bros Rebuffed By Appeal Court

The Pitt is deep into production for its upcoming third season, but the Noah Wylie starring Emmy winning drama will have to scrub up for court next year too.

Two months after hearing arguments for Pitt producers and the Michael Crichton Estate over whether the HBO series is derivative of ER, a panel of appeal court judges has affirmed a lower court ruling on the two-year old case. All of which means, The Pitt and the now Skydance-owned Warner Bros is heading to a jury trial in L.A. Superior Court.

With discovery still to come in the clash with widow Sherri Crichton, on behalf of John Michael Crichton Trust’s Roadrunner JMTC, a trial could come as early as next summer — unless the parties settle. A settlement doesn’t seem impossible, but very unlikely with all the bitterness and bad blood between the principals.

Reps for WBTV and Pitt producers did not respond to Deadline’s request for comment on the ruling.

A critical and commercial hit for HBO, attorneys for the medical drama were blunt in their POV in an appeal filing in October 2025 after LASC Judge Wendy Chang previously denied WB’s motion to toss the matter. “There was no evidence that The Pitt was made by copying from or using ER, so there was no evidence that The Pitt was ‘derivative’ of ER — even if the copyright test for a ‘derivative work’ does not apply,” declared an appellants’ opening brief filed on October 28 last year by WBTV, Wyle, producer John Wells, R. Scott Gemmill and others.

Season 3 of The Pitt is set to drop in January 2027.

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