Zach Braff Joins ‘Scrubs’ Reboot in Development at ABC

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
EEiBt4t.jpeg

Zach Braff may soon be scrubbing back in at Sacred Heart. The actor is on board to reprise the role of J.D. in a reboot of "Scrubs" being developed at ABC.

The reboot was first reported to be in early development in December, with original series creator Bill Lawrence serving as executive producer but not showrunner.

Lawrence, Braff and other "Scrubs" alum have discussed the idea of a reboot for years, but it couldn't go into motion until after negotiations between Disney, which owns the IP, and Warner Bros. Television, where Lawrence has an overall deal. While working on "Scrubs" at Disney-owned 20th Television, Lawrence remains under his deal at WBTV, where he produces the Apple TV+ comedy series "Shrinking," "Ted Lasso" and "Bad Monkey."

"Scrubs" premiered in 2001 on NBC, which aired the series for seven seasons before cancelling it. It was then renewed by ABC for an eighth season, which was intended to end the series, though the network later greenlit a ninth season subtitled "Scrubs: Med School" in which only John C. McGinley and Donald Faison stayed on as series regulars. Braff appeared in six out of 13 episodes.

Alongside Braff as J.D. aka John Dorian, the original cast of "Scrubs" included McGinley as Perry Cox, Faison as Chris Turk, Judy Reyes as Carla Espinosa, Sarah Chalke as Elliot Reid, Ken Jenkins as Bob Kelso and Neil Flynn as the janitor. The series was a single-camera sitcom set at Sacred Heart Hospital and narrated by J.D. as he and his friends advanced in their medical careers.

Braff is the only cast member currently confirmed to be attached to the reboot. He previously spoke about his enthusiasm to join a "Scrubs" reboot in a Variety interview about the 20th anniversary of his film "Garden State": "The idea of getting back together with my friends and doing like 10 or 12 episodes of maybe one or two seasons, and just laughing with everyone? That sounds like a dream," he said.



Not sure what Scrubs would actually look like in this day and age.

I really don't know if I should be excited or just get ready for inevitable cancellation after the first season.
 
I think it would be neat if JD ended up becoming an asshole like Dr. Cox because that's what being a doctor after awhile does to you and for Cox to be retired but now that he is no longer living the stressful life of a doctor he is sillier and gets into antics like JD used to.
 
Would be pretty shocking if Faison wasn't also involved, considering how close he and Braff are. But yeah, I'm not gonna get too excited here.
 
They probably have another 'passing of the torch' idea in mind to some angsty woman. I know it sounds jaded, but I can't believe that any of these new reboots are going to be actually good after the last 10 years of hollywood fucking them up.

I enjoyed Scrubs a lot, but I don't feel like I need more of it in 2025.
 
I feel who ends up being the showrunner will make a significant difference. A good deal of Bill Lawrence's work he was the head of is great: Spin City, Clone High, Ted Lasso, and of course Scrubs. So it's a shame he's only an executive producer on this.
 
Which is why I recommend to people here to check out Ted Lasso and Shrinking if you want that Scrubs-like feeling but in something new.
Couldn't get into Shrinking but I binged Ted Lasso. I had my gripes with season 2 but overall I recommend the show to anyone who has not seen it. I thought season 1 of Ted Lasso was fantastic, for me it was perfect television but I will admit that in my older age I basically hate everything now and it takes quite a bit to move my needle, so I am not the best source of tv/movie recommendations! :)
 
Last edited:
Couldn't get into Shrinking but I binged Ted Lasso. I had my gripes with season 2 but overall I recommend the show to anyone who has not seen it. I thought season 1 of Ted Lasso was fantastic, for me it was perfect television but I will admit that in my older age I basically hate everything now and it takes quite a bit to move my needle, so I am not the best source of tv/movie recommendations! :)
This might be a bit of a wildcard recommendation, but if you like Korean shows, check out Prison Playbook on Netflix.

For me it gave the same Scrubs-like feelings as the other shows I listed, but in an interesting setting of a South Korean prison system. It's a good watch.

Edit: And the show gets going with it's feelgood tone in episode 2. Episode 1 is more of a setup for why it takes place in prison.
 
Last edited:
Weird tidbit, but I was professional acquaintances with Zach Braff about ten years ago. Even got invited to his premiere of Wish I Was Here. I'm a big fan of Scrubs, so it was cool to work with him. He genuinely seems like a great dude.

I really hope this reboot isn't ass. That series was great.
 
This might be a bit of a wildcard recommendation, but if you like Korean shows, check out Prison Playbook on Netflix.

For me it gave the same Scrubs-like feelings as the other shows I listed, but in an interesting setting of a South Korean prison system. It's a good watch.

Edit: And the show gets going with it's feelgood tone in episode 2. Episode 1 is more of a setup for why it takes place in prison.
I cannot say I have watched any (well squid game if that counts…not sure where it originated).

Will check it out!
 
I really don't think it's possible to recapture even a spark of the original show in today's world.

Virtually every episode had at least one scene or one dialogue that wouldn't be acceptable today. Plus, after a worldwide health crisis, the way the show portrayed what is actually a fairly accurate (while obviously exaggerated and parodied) representation of the everyday practice of medicine would be seen as highly offensive.

They'd also pretty much have to shoehorn COVID and all the more recent pandemic scares into it, and there's no way they could be subtle about it. Lastly, there were not a few race jokes in the series, not to mention a lot of flirting and sexual situations that would now be seen as practically rape.

… yeah, I don't see this working. And if it did work, it'd be cancelled quickly, precisely because of what would make it work.
 
Nah, world today is too woke for Scrubs humor. Loved the show, all they need to do is an HD remaster of it…
I specifically subscribed to Disney+ to see Scrubs in glorious HD, turns out it was the old 4/3 576i version. I don't understand why they never bothered to remaster it.

And Season 8's intro shows they filmed it in 16/9 since the beginning

 
I really don't think it's possible to recapture even a spark of the original show in today's world.

Virtually every episode had at least one scene or one dialogue that wouldn't be acceptable today. Plus, after a worldwide health crisis, the way the show portrayed what is actually a fairly accurate (while obviously exaggerated and parodied) representation of the everyday practice of medicine would be seen as highly offensive.

They'd also pretty much have to shoehorn COVID and all the more recent pandemic scares into it, and there's no way they could be subtle about it. Lastly, there were not a few race jokes in the series, not to mention a lot of flirting and sexual situations that would now be seen as practically rape.

… yeah, I don't see this working. And if it did work, it'd be cancelled quickly, precisely because of what would make it work.
Yep, if this actually goes ahead then I predict a full on terminal case of diarrhea wrapped up in modern tropes, followed by an ultra quick humourless death.

I hate these modern times, I really do.
 
Top Bottom