Bill Lawrence: Scrubs Revival 'Looks At How The System Has Changed' — And Who, Potentially, Has Scrubbed Out
While ABC's in-the-works Scrubs revival will feature characters both old and new, unlike Season 9, which saw Dr. John Dorian pass the proverbial torch to a new protagonist — Kerry Bishé's Lucy Bennett — a hypothetical 10th season will be told exclusively from Vanilla Bear's perspective.
Series mastermind Bill Lawrence revealed as much to me during a recent Zoom, where he reflected on the sitcom's divisive ninth season and confirmed that the revival is very much about JD and BFF Turk.
"I hate the narrative, like, 'Oh, the ninth year sucked.' No, it didn't," Lawrence maintains. "It's sour grapes, whatever, I'm so lucky to have done it. I didn't get to work on [that season] as much, but that writing staff did a great job, and I think Kerry Bishé, Michael Mosley, Eliza Coupe and Dave Franco have all gone on to have great careers because they were really good. If it had been a spinoff called Scrubs: Med or Scrubs: Med School, it would not have been judged as harshly, but I understand the business of that [decision]. This one is [also] called Scrubs, and it starts with JD and Turk."
Zach Braff, who is set to return as a series regular should the new incarnation move forward, previously disclosed that the revival will aim to capture the same humor and heart as the original run, but showcase a version of JD who has been "beaten down by the system" over the last 15 years. That, Lawrence says, has been part of the fun — and the challenge — as they conceived of what the world of Scrubs looks like now.
"The hardest part is that Zach and Donald have aged," the EP says with a laugh. "People still have that affinity, and love, for that goofy youthfulness — it's why the T-Mobile commercials work so well. But if I saw two guys in their late 40s/early 50s doing 'World's Most Giant Doctor,' and carrying each other around all the time, I would go, 'What the f–k is going on,' you know? To see what that [friendship] looks like at their age, and [take] a comedic look at what medicine has become since those kids started out as interns, and see how our people would look at it, deal with it, and try to remain optimistic," is their main objective.
"I will tell you that the people I based the original characters on, like the real JD [Dr. Jonathan Doris], is still the medical advisor on the show, and still a cardiologist and a heart surgeon in L.A.," Lawrence reveals. "But the real Elliot [Doris' wife, Dr. Dolly Klock] is no longer in medicine because it got to be too much for her, and she wanted to do other things that are equally as philanthropic. She does this education thing for adolescents and kids now. So, to look at how the system not only changed, but how it has beaten some of these people down, and how they retain their optimism with a new wave of young characters, has really been fun.... My hope would be that we establish where everybody from [the original show] is, whether they're still with us at the hospital or not." That includes Sarah Chalke's Dr. Elliot Reid, Judy Reyes' Nurse Carla Espinosa, John C. McGinley's Dr. Perry Cox, Neil Flynn as The Janitor, and Ken Jenkins' Dr. Bob Kelso.
"I hope Ken [who is now 84] is able to come play with us a little bit," Lawrence says. "He's a little older, but we love him so much. The only bummer, obviously, is that Sam Lloyd [who played Ted] was such a huge part of the show, and he passed on [in 2020]."
However, unlike other recent revivals, which have incorporated legacy characters' children, fans shouldn't expect Scrubs 2.0 to prominently feature the offspring of JD and Elliot, Turk and Carla, or Cox and Jordan.
"I think it's inevitable that JD and Elliot's kid makes appearances," Lawrence says, "but Scrubs is first and foremost a workplace comedy, so I think we're going to keep it that."
Are you eager for ABC to pull the trigger on Scrubs — especially now that we have a better sense of what Season 10 will be? Drop your thoughts in a comment below.