An ER post-mortem

As the final series of medical drama ER draws to a close, in The New York Times, Bill Carter talks to some of those behind its long-running success, including the first executive producer John Wells

There are so many versions about what happened at the pilot screening for NBC, but this is what I remember. Warren Littlefield [the president of NBC Entertainment] came out and said, “We’re never going to put it on the air.” Les went crazy and started yelling, saying we were going to test it ourselves. We called NBC after we tested it, and they didn’t believe our results. So we suggested a focus group. That went so well they then tested it. I was shocked at the results. It was the best-testing show they’d ever had.