‘Scrubs’ creator Bill Lawrence says reboot/revival combo is ‘getting really close’
Would you like a “Scrubs” revival, where J.D. (Zach Braff), Elliot (Sarah Chalke), and the rest of the original gang return, or a “Scrubs” reboot, with a new group of medical interns in the same dramedy format? Why not both? That’s what creator Bill Lawrence is proposing.
In an interview with Deadline pegged to the finale of his Apple TV+ series “Bad Monkey,” the prolific, Emmy-winning producer said that a “Scrubs” revival is “getting really close to being figured out.” Lawrence is under an overall deal with Warner Bros. while “Scrubs” is produced by ABC/Disney, but once that negotiation is resolved, Lawrence is confident development will move forward.
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“Big chunks of the creative team behind the camera, and most of it from in front of the camera, are all super invested and excited, so very close,” Lawrence said regarding the current status of the project.
Lawrence said that the series will have elements of a revival and a reboot, terms which are sometimes used interchangeably but are distinct concepts. “We’ve been talking about a lot, and I think the only real reason to do it is a combo,” Lawrence said. The new “Scrubs” will catch up with beloved original characters 15 years down the line, and will also introduce new young characters who are like J.D. when the show started.
“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,” Lawrence said. “There’s no cliché ‘rich doctors playing golf’ — that’s not what it is anymore. So I think that, no matter what it is, it would be a giant mistake not to do as a combo of those two things.”
It must be noted that “Scrubs” already did something similar to this in its ninth season, as most of the original cast left or moved to recurring and a new crop of doctors led by Kerry Bishé moved in. The show was canceled after that season. Presumably, what Lawrence learned from that experience is that “Scrubs” needs Braff, Chalke, Donald Faison, Judy Reyes, and John C. McGinley to work.
Braff, who guest-starred on “Bad Monkey” earlier in the season, has already publicly stated his desire to scrub back in. In August, he said he thinks the revival is “going to happen” once Lawrence’s deal is worked out, and he’s excited to get back to it. “It would be so much fun [with] all my favorite people,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “We all still hang out. A lot of people who were on long shows say that, but it’s true. I was just on vacation with Sarah Chalke… I’m going to the beach with Bill next weekend. We’re all friends.”
The medical comedy “Scrubs” ran for nine seasons from 2001 to 2010, with the first eight on NBC and the last one on ABC. It was nominated for 17 Emmys the course of its run and won two, for editing and sound mixing.
Lawrence also has a second season of his Apple TV+ comedy “Shrinking” and an HBO comedy starring Steve Carell in the works. In the meantime, all nine seasons of “Scrubs” are available to stream on Hulu.
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