Will there be a Scrubs reboot?
Will J.D. finally be reunited with Dr. Jan Itor?
It was one of the most popular and long-running comedy shows of the noughties and now it looks like a Scrubs revival could finally be on the way.
Created by future Ted Lasso mastermind Bill Lawrence, Scrubs debuted in October 2001 and introduced us to the doctors and new recruits at the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital.
Led by newly qualified medical professional and self-confessed daydreamer J.D. (Zack Braff) and his surgeon best pal Turk (Donald Faison), the show took a wild look at life in a busy hospital, where the characters were larger-than-life and unexpected heartbreak was never too far away.
After nine seasons and an unconventional ending, Scrubs came to a close in 2010 but fans have long clamoured for more. It’s something that Braff and Faison’s series watch-along podcast has only exacerbated — but will a Scrubs reboot ever actually happen?
Let’s look at what has been said so far…
Will there be a Scrubs reboot?
Scrubs creator Lawrence has said that a reunion could be imminent, although nothing has been confirmed just yet. Speaking in August 2024, he teased that the cast could get back together at some point during the next “six months to a year”.
“We’ve been talking about it,” he told The Independent while promoting his show Bad Monkey. “We all spend time with each other in real life, but everybody is so talented from that show that they’re all working.”
Lawrence added: “We’ve really started to entertain the idea about getting the band back together because we all feel like we do have some stories to tell. People in the medical community are heroes right now. They certainly aren’t doing it for the money!”
That said, he quickly ruled out the idea of a Scrubs movie, telling the outlet that the idea “sounds like a lot of work.”
In a separate chat with Variety, the producer and writer said it would be “interesting to see those characters older and see what new young kids look like in medicine right now”.
He added: “It would be fun to do not just because we want an excuse to hang out with each other, but because it’d be fun to do creatively. You don’t want to just mail it in.”
The outlet highlighted that a revival could be tricky due to Disney owning the rights to Scrubs and Lawrence currently working through a deal with Warner Bros. TV. However, Lawrence mentioned that doing something is still likely: “The business part of it can always get mucked up. But I’m super hopeful,” he said.
He also commented on the show’s unlikely longevity, saying “it’s fascinating” that fans’ passion for Scrubs has “never died”. He added: “It’s because Zach and Donald are such friends in real life and doing their podcast, and those T-Mobile commercials. None of us really need it, and that’s probably the biggest barrier to entry — everybody’s super successful, so talented and lovely.”
What has the Scrubs cast said?
In August 2024, Braff said a Scrubs reunion “would be so much fun” and predicted that “it’s going to happen”. He told Entertainment Weekly: “Once those two companies [Disney and Warner Bros.] figure that out, I think the people will get what they want.”
In 2022, the show’s stars — including Braff, Faison, Elliot’s Sarah Chalke, Dr Cox star John C. McGinley, Carla actress Judy Reyes and the Janitor’s Neil Flynn — reunited for a panel discussion on the show’s legacy.
During this event, Faison suggested a reunion was all-but inevitable, saying: “I think we all want [to do a reboot]. We all would love to work together again.”
But he cautioned that it could be “really hard” to co-ordinate the stars’ schedules for a new batch of episodes. “It can’t be a full season of a show — it would have to be a movie or something like that, where you only give a couple of months to it,” he said. “Everyone is doing things.”
Faison added: “We’re gonna do it because we’re lucky enough that people care. Top to bottom, we enjoy spending time with each other. If you ever have an excuse to work with people that you’d want to spend time with anyways, run to it… It’s worth it to me to see Neil back in the jumpsuit again.”
So is a Scrubs revival on the way? We’re no psychic Supermen, but it’s sure looking likely.
Scrubs is available to stream on Disney+ in the UK.
