Noah Wyle 'Profoundly Sad' Over Being SUED By 'E.R.' Creator Michael Crichton's Widow Over 'Rip-Off Spin-Off' — 'This Taints the Legacy'
Noah Wyle admitted he is 'sad' over the lawsuit.
April 10 2025, Published 7:12 p.m. ET
Noah Wyle has revealed he is "profoundly sad" over being sued by E.R. creator Michael Crichton's widow for the "rip-off spin-off."
RadarOnline.com can reveal that despite The Pitt becoming one of the best new shows released this year, Crichton's widow suggested it resembles the medical drama a bit too much in her lawsuit.
He admitted he is 'profoundly sad' over being sued by 'E.R.' creator Michael Crichton's widow.
In a new interview with Variety, Wyle admitted he feels "disappointed" by the lawsuit, which called The Pitt "a shameful betrayal of Crichton and his legacy" and "a callous disregard for Crichton’s inception of E.R."
He explained: "This taints the legacy, and it shouldn’t have. At one point, this could have been a partnership. And when it wasn’t a partnership, it didn’t need to turn acrimonious. But on the 30th anniversary of E.R., I’ve never felt less celebratory of that achievement than I do this year."
Wyle, who is best known for his role as Dr. John Carter in E.R., stars in and executive produces The Pitt – which aired more than 15 years after the NBC medical drama ended.
Before it premiered earlier in 2025, Crichton's widow, Sherri, sued the actor, The Pitt creator R. Scott Gemmill, executive producer John Wells and Warner Bros. Television over "breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and intentional interference with contractual relations."
The lawsuit slammed the show claiming it's a rebranded version.
The August 2024 lawsuit claimed the show The Pitt is a rebranded version of an unauthorized E.R. reboot.
The lawsuit stated: "The Pitt is E.R. It’s not like E.R., it’s not kind of E.R., it’s not sort of E.R.. It is E.R. complete with the same executive producer, writer, star, production companies, studio and network as the planned E.R. reboot. No one has been fooled."
A reboot for the beloved series E.R. was reportedly in the works, but Warner Bros. Television couldn't come to an agreement with Sherri about it, which led the project to be shelved.
Wyle told Variety in the interview: "We pivoted as far in the opposite direction as we could in order to tell the story we wanted to tell. And not for litigious reasons, but because we didn’t want to retread our own creative work."
Wyle remains proud of his work on both 'E.R.' and 'The Pitt.'
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While Wyle remains proud of his work on both E.R. and The Pitt, he did admit the shows share one similarity — and that's the relationships they have built on set.
He said: "We see each other fall in love, get married, have children, get divorced. Those relationships transcend the screen and become palpable to an audience who wants to be part of that family.
"I’ve tried to create it in every job I’ve gone on, but with varying degrees of success."
After playing a doctor on television for 13 seasons – and earning five Primetime Emmy and three Golden Globe nominations – he revealed the real reason why he was motivated to return to the small screen.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wyle revealed he received messages from first responders, before adding: "They were saying things like, ‘Carter, where are you? It’s really hard out here'."
