After years of wondering if it would ever happen, a Scrubs reboot seems to finally be a reality, as earlier today a report from Deadline confirmed series creator Bill Lawrence has worked out a deal to develop the series for ABC and 20th Television. It’s been over 14 years since the original series rather abruptly ended with season 9, and now fans will get to see much of the original cast reunite in a series that seems to be half reboot and half revival. While the details are still scarce, we do know a few things about how the original show will tie to the reboot series, so let’s break down what we know so far.
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A Welcome Return
In addition to Lawrence working out a deal to return to the series, casting has reportedly begun with locking in several members of the original cast. The report mentions that Zach Braff (J.D.), Sarah Chalke (Elliot), Donald Faison (Turk), and John C. McGinley (Dr. Cox) are all being approached to return for the series, and there are early talks of also bringing back Judy Reyes (Carla) as well.
From a previous interview with Lawrence, we know that the show would allow people to see what the world of medicine has evolved and how our favorite doctors have evolved with it. There is also mention of new interns being in the mix to play off of JD, Elliot, Turk, and the rest of the crew, which is actually a bit in line with the ninth season of the show as well.
The Original Finale
While the final episode of Scrubs took place in 2010 as part of season 9, the season 8 season finale was actually the episode that was supposed to close out the show. Episode 18 of season 8 was fittingly titled “My Finale”, and featured J.D.’s final day at Sacred Heart Hospital. The episode features a host of lovely moments between JD and the rest of the characters, including the final hug with Dr. Cox and finding out the Janitor’s real name (it’s Glen by the way).
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J.D. sees his future play out on the Goodbye J.D. Banner, which shows a future where J.D. and Elliot are married and having another child, as well as holiday celebrations with the Turks and Coxes and the engagement of Izzy and Sammy. He then says that his fantasies might just come true, but this turned out not to be the final ending of Scrubs.
The New Finale
That arrived with episode 13 of season 9 in an episode titled Our Thanks. Season 9 is set 18 months after My Finale, and while it does serve as the series finale, this episode was clearly not structured like one, and that’s because that wasn’t the intent. A full season of episodes wasn’t ultimately ordered, so the batch of episodes ends with episode 13, which is pretty clear since it focuses more on the season’s newer characters and only primarily features Dr. Cox and Dr. Turk.
That said, episode 9 of season 9 does directly involve J.D. and Elliot as they prepare for the to have their baby, complete with a babymoon inside of Sacred Heart. This was effectively the end of their storyline in the season, so if the reboot takes place in the present, we would not only see J.D. and Elliot’s child grown up but also perhaps another child. We might also see a revamped Sacred Heart, as it was already rebuilt previously, and while it wasn’t mentioned, there’s always the possibility of seeing some of the new characters from season 9 make an appearance in the reboot as well.
That’s what we know so far about the Scrubs reboot, but let us know if you’re excited to see the Scrubs cast back in action on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb and on Bluesky @knightofoa!
