George Clooney Wants In on The Pitt Despite ER Backlash — He’d Do It in a Heartbeat

If you were hoping George Clooney would never put on scrubs again, bad news: he sounds ready to clock back in. And yes, it involves Noah Wyle's hospital show that is currently parked in the middle of a legal traffic jam.

Clooney is game for The Pitt

While out promoting his new Netflix film Jay Kelly, Clooney told Entertainment Tonight he would happily show up on Wyle's HBO Max series The Pitt.

"I’d do The Pitt in a heartbeat."

He also played the respectful friend card, saying he has not asked Wyle about guesting because it is Wyle's show and he does not want to intrude. But he could not stop praising it, calling the series a beautiful success and Wyle an honorable, wildly talented guy he has loved since they shot the ER pilot together. A few months earlier, he was just as effusive: "It’s so good," he said, basically sounding like a proud big brother.

Meanwhile, the show is getting sued for being too ER

Here is where the story gets very ... industry-lawyer. The Pitt is dealing with a lawsuit from Michael Crichton's widow, Sherri Crichton, who says the show is basically ER with a new name tag. Her complaint argues The Pitt is ER in everything but title and zip code: it comes from longtime executive producer John Wells, features the same star in Noah Wyle, uses the same writer, and involves the same companies that, per the filing, were trying to mount a direct ER reboot for Max before this version happened.

The filing lays out a chain of events the estate says led to The Pitt going forward without proper sign-off. Short version below:

• Crichton's estate says it holds "frozen rights" over any ER reboot, meaning nothing moves forward without their approval.
• In November 2022, per the complaint, John Wells called Sherri Crichton to say Warner Bros. planned to announce an ER revival. The studio was open to keeping Michael Crichton's name attached, but the estate says they would not negotiate what that credit meant.
• Early talks reportedly floated giving Crichton a "created by" credit or paying a guaranteed $5 million. Those options allegedly disappeared later, and the deal fell apart.
• According to the lawsuit, Wells, Wyle, and Warner Bros. then made the show anyway, rebranding it as The Pitt, setting it in Pittsburgh instead of Chicago, but keeping what the estate says are ER's core bones.

For the record, the producers maintain The Pitt is not an ER reboot. That distinction becomes important if Clooney ever shows up.

If Clooney scrubs in, it will not be as Doug Ross

Because the production side insists The Pitt is its own thing, there is no world where Clooney drops in as Dr. Doug Ross. If he does it, expect a brand-new character with a fresh coat and zero Chicago baggage. Will it happen? He is clearly into the idea, so do not be shocked.

The quick snapshot on The Pitt

The Pitt streams on HBO Max. It has one season so far and is not finished yet. Ratings-wise, it is doing just fine: 8.9 on IMDb and 95% on Rotten Tomatoes as of now.

Would you watch Clooney back in scrubs for a guest arc? Tell me yes or yes in the comments.