The estate of Michael Crichton, who wrote the screenplay for what became the pilot episode of "ER," has sued Warner Bros. Television over a dispute about an upcoming medical drama it says is a rebranded version of an unauthorized reboot.

After Crichton's estate, led by his widow, Sherri, could not reach an agreement with the television studio to produce a reboot of the famed medical procedural, the lawsuit alleges Warner Bros. proceeded to develop and produce a series based on the same premise without consent.