“The Pitt” Was Almost An “ER” Reboot

Comparisons have been made between Max’s medical procedural series “The Pitt” and NBC’s 1990s TV stalwart “ER,” mostly because they’re both medical dramas starring Noah Wyle.

Wyle stars in and executive produces the show, along with writing at least two episodes of the series which is shot on the Warner Bros. Studios lot – just one soundstage over from where “ER” was filmed.

Appearing on the latest episode of EW’s The Awardist podcast to discuss the series, he confirms that “The Pitt” actually started life as a potential reboot of “ER”.

However, it was rights issue with the estate of the late author Michael Crichton who created “ER,” that led to the creation of a whole new series with “The Pitt”:

“We were close enough that we were in the rights conversation with the Crichton camp that broke down, and that’s how we got to where we are.”

He adds that while a reboot “would’ve been satisfying for ER fans,” getting the original cast back together would be near impossible (and expensive). The other thing is the creative team: “wanted to move from 2020 forward, not go back to ’93 and bring everybody up to 2020.”

The result – though both are medical procedurals, both shows are different in their approaches. “ER” was episodic with a focus on the patient’s cases – the doctors’ personal lives taking a back seat. “The Pitt” is serialised, unfolding in real time with each episode a single hour of the same shift, and the focus is very much on the medical professionals and the toll it takes on them.

The talk comes as Crichton’s widow Sherri Crichton is suing over the series and its comparisons to “ER,” the lawsuit claiming (via People): “The Pitt is ER. It’s not like ER, it’s not kind of ER, it’s not sort of ER. It is ER complete with the same executive producer, writer, star, production companies, studio and network as the planned ER reboot. No one has been fooled.”

Wyle told Variety earlier this month he was “profoundly sad and disappointed” by the lawsuit.

Reviews for the series have been quite strong with a 76/100 on Metacritic and some Emmy Awards chatter. The full season of “The Pitt” is now available on Max.

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