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One of my favorite early 2000s sitcoms, Scrubs, aired from 2001 to 2010. I liked it because it was clever, funny, and full of heart all at the same time. I always get excited whenever I see one of its cast members in anything else. I even listened to the early days of Zach Braff and Donald Faison’s rewatch podcast (which they started in 2020). Well, here’s some news for all of my fellow Scrubs fans. It is joining the long list of properties getting a reboot. It’s still in the early stages, but we have our first official casting confirmation. Braff will be back as J.D.
Zach Braff is dusting off his, well, you know. The actor is officially returning as John “J.D.” Dorian on the upcoming Scrubs revival in the works at ABC, which hails from 20th Television, Entertainment Weekly can confirm.
Braff played the central physician on the medical sitcom for its first seven seasons on NBC and its eighth on ABC. He also returned for six episodes of the show’s ninth season, which introduced a new set of primary characters.
Since the show’s end, Braff has maintained close professional ties with Donald Faison, who played J.D.’s bestie, Christopher Turk, forming perhaps the most quintessential TV bromance at the peak of bromances being a thing people talked about. Braff and Faison launched the Scrubs rewatch podcast Fake Doctors, Real Friends in 2020, and have teamed up for approximately 10,000 T-Mobile commercials that harken back to their onscreen friendship.
The Scrubs revival has been in the works for several months from the show’s original creator, Bill Lawrence, who went on to oversee hit series like Ted Lasso and Shrinking (both of which Braff has directed episodes of) . Deadline Hollywood reports that Lawrence’s commitments to those other shows, which are returning for additional seasons on Apple TV+, mean that he will not serve as showrunner for the new iteration of Scrubs.
The outlet also reports that with Braff now on board, it’s safe to expect deals to be negotiated with other original cast members, including Faison, Sarah Chalke (who played Elliot Reid), John C. McGinley (Perry Cox), and Judy Reyes (Carla Espinosa).
Lawrence previously told Deadline that he expects the new version of Scrubs to be a hybrid of a revival with the original cast and a reboot with new characters. “We’ve been talking about a lot, and I think the only real reason to do it is a combo,” he said. “A: people wanting to see what the world of medicine was like for the people they love, which is part of any successful reboot. But B: I think that show always worked because you get to see young people dropped into the world of medicine, knowing young people that go there are super idealistic and are doing it because it’s a calling.”
I am kind of surprised at this news. As much as I loved the show, I thought it definitely petered out during its last few seasons. Plus, all of the original cast members still work regularly. I figured Braff was into directing, podcasting, and making T-Mobile commercials now. “Sources” say that he only agreed to do it after negotiating to film it in Los Angeles instead of Vancouver. Producers must really be putting a lot of stock into him coming back and think he’s the key to getting more OG cast members to join.
On that note, I wonder who else will come back. Faison is a no-brainer since his bestie is doing it, so I bet Judy Reyes will do it too. I’m not sure if Sarah Chalke would be back, but I’m not ruling it out. I also think John C. McGinley will do it on a recurring basis, still acting as a mentor to J.D. and company. Part of me hopes Neil Flynn will come back as the Janitor, but I’d like to believe that the Janitor has retired by now! Finally, I like the idea of having a mix of old and new characters. It sounds like the returning cast would become the mentors for the new cast. That’s the only way to do it, and if done right, it could be really good. Okay, fine. I’m officially putting this one in my “I’m willing to hear more” column.
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- Donald Faison and his Scrubs TV co-star Zach Braff Opening night after party for the Off-Broadway production of 'Trust' held at Dopo Teatro Restaurant,,Image: 343391013, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Joseph Marzullo/Wenn/Avalon
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- Usa/Australia/Canada Rights Only-Los Angeles, CA – 6/23/2014 – LA Premiere of Wish I Was Here at DGA Theater -PICTURED: Zach Braff and Donald Faison -PHOTO by: Lionel Hahn/Abacausa/startraksphoto.com -ABUSAv_158794 Editorial – Rights Managed Image – Please contact www.startraksphoto.com for licensing fee Startraks Photo New York, NY For licensing please call 212-414-9464 or email sales@startraksphoto.com Featuring: Zach Braff and Donald Faison Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 23 Jun 2014 Credit: Lionel Hahn/Abacausa/startraksphoto.com **Usa/Australia/Canada Rights Only**
Photos credit: Lionel Hahn/Abacausa/startraksphoto.com, Joseph Marzullo/Wenn/Avalon and Getty
No thank you! I think the Scrubs model could still work; it might be a good antidote to the more “serious” medical dramas like the Pit. But I do not want more Braff or more J.D.
I also think that the presence of the original cast in that last season stunted the development of anything interesting with the newer cast. I remember Dave Franco being a standout.
I hope Dr Kelso comes back ..he was my favourite 😍
I know that there’s some dislike out there for Zach Braff – and that we’re all tired of reboots – but I loved this show! Will definitely watch and just hope it’s better than the awful Night Court revival.
I like the two guys’ TV commercials.