in 2002|alt=Michael Crichton wearing a suit. In 1974, author
Michael Crichton wrote a screenplay then titled "
EW" (for
Emergency Ward) based on his own experiences as a
medical student in a busy hospital
emergency room. Producers were not interested in the screenplay, and Crichton turned to other topics. In 1990, he published the novel
Jurassic Park, and in 1993 began a collaboration with director
Steven Spielberg on the
film adaptation of the book. After its release, Crichton and Spielberg then turned to what was now known as
ER, but Spielberg decided to film the story as a two-hour pilot for a television series rather than as a feature film after considering the potential for various stories to be told in the setting. He passed the script on to a team at his production company,
Amblin Entertainment.
Anthony Thomopoulos, then head of Amblin's television division, got in touch with then CEO of
Warner Bros. Television,
Les Moonves, about the idea for the series and to send the script. Spielberg's
Amblin Television provided
John Wells as the show's executive producer. Warner Bros. Television pitched
ER to
NBC, alongside Crichton, Spielberg, and Wells.
Warren Littlefield, head of
NBC Entertainment at the time, liked the project, but there was much debate and controversy among other executives at NBC, who were dubious about the nature of the series. NBC offered a chance to make a two-hour
made-for-TV movie from the script, which was rejected. They then tried to get the show greenlit at rival networks before returning to NBC, who this time around ordered a
pilot. Littlefield was impressed by the series: "We were intrigued, but we were admittedly a bit spooked in attempting to go back into that territory a few years after
St. Elsewhere. With Spielberg attached behind the scenes, NBC ordered six episodes. "
ER premiered opposite a
Monday Night Football game on
ABC and did surprisingly well. Then we moved it to Thursday and it just took off," commented Littlefield.
ERs success surprised the networks and critics alike, as
David E. Kelley's new medical drama
Chicago Hope was expected to crush the new series, airing directly opposite
ER in the Thursday 10:00 pm time slot over on
CBS. Crichton was credited as an executive producer until his death in November 2008, and also posthumously for the final season. Wells, the series' other initial executive producer, served as
showrunner for the first four seasons. He was the show's most prolific writer and became a regular director in later years.
Lydia Woodward was a part of the first season production team and became an executive producer for the third season. She took over as showrunner for the fifth season while Wells focused on the development of other series, including
Trinity,
Third Watch, and
The West Wing. John Wells continued to serve as the primary Executive Producer for the remainder of the series. Lydia Woodward left her executive producer position at the end of the sixth season but continued to write episodes throughout the series run.
Joe Sachs, who was a writer and producer of the series, believed keeping a commitment to medical accuracy was extremely important: "We'd bend the rules but never break them. A medication that would take 10 minutes to work might take 30 seconds instead. We compressed time. A 12- to 24-hour shift gets pushed into 48 minutes. But we learned that being accurate was important for more reasons than just making real and responsible drama." Woodward was replaced as showrunner by
Jack Orman. Orman was recruited as a writer-producer for the series in its fourth season after a successful stint working on CBS's
JAG. He was quickly promoted and became an executive producer and showrunner for the series' seventh season. He held these roles for three seasons before leaving the series at the end of the ninth season. Orman was also a frequent writer and directed three episodes of the show.
David Zabel served as the series' head writer and executive producer in its later seasons. He initially joined the crew for the eighth season and became an executive producer and showrunner for the twelfth season onward. Zabel was the series' most frequent writer, contributing to 41 episodes. He also made his directing debut on the series.
Christopher Chulack was the series' most frequent director and worked as a producer on all 15 seasons. He became an executive producer in the fourth season but occasionally scaled back his involvement in later years to focus on other projects. Other executive producers include writers
Carol Flint,
Neal Baer,
R. Scott Gemmill, Joe Sachs,
Dee Johnson,
Lisa Zwerling, and
Janine Sherman Barrois. Several of these writers and producers had background in healthcare: Joe Sachs was an
emergency physician, while Lisa Zwerling and Neal Baer were both
pediatricians. The series' crew was recognized with awards for writing, directing, producing, film editing, sound editing, casting, and music. ==Broadcast==