Nearly 15 years after the finale, Bill Lawrence understands fans’ reluctance to celebrate the news of a Scrubs reboot.
After Deadline reported that the project is in development at ABC with 20th Television, the medical sitcom’s creator and executive producer responded to concerned fans of the show, which originally ran for nine seasons from 2001 to 2010.
One fan said he “hope[s] this does not happen,” asking Lawrence on X if he’s returning for the reboot. Although he’s developing the followup, he will not return as showrunner.
“Yeah, I will help,” wrote Lawrence in response. “Why would you hope it doesn’t happen? Not a ton of people are working out here. The cast/crew all love each other. And if it’s great you’ll be psyched. If it’s not you won’t watch. Get on board! lol.”
The fan explained that the finale was so “incredible,” he hopes Lawrence and the writers can “recapture that magic,” or else it will “feel forced.”
“I hear you man. And I’m grateful you’re invested,” Lawrence replied. “But we will have to come up with something that makes it seem worthwhile. And hopefully we will nail it. But big fun to try. It’s our job!”
In another responsehe admitted, “Look, honestly, this will be like all shows. We could blow it. We could nail it. I’ve had both experiences often.”
“Guess the easy reboot sum up: I get some folks reservations the same way I get others’ excitement,” added Lawrence in a post. “Both just feel like pressure to do something cool/new/good. We’re gonna try. I imagine the world will let us know if it works.”
With Lawrence on board, 20th TV is moving in to secure the main Scrubs original cast — Zach Braff, who plays John ‘J.D.’ Dorian, Sarah Chalke (Elliot Reid), Donald Faison (Christopher Turk) and John C. McGinley (Perry Cox). It’s unclear if Judy Reyes will return as no-nonsense nurse Carla Espinosa, who left the medical comedy ahead of its final season. According to sources, her character is factored into early plans for the reboot.
Scrubs star Judy Reyes, creator Bill Lawrence, stars Ken Jenkins, Sarah Chalke, Zach Braff, Neil Flynn, Donald Faison and John C. McGinley celebrate the 100th episode
Charbonneau/WireImage for Bragman Nyman Cafarelli
“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,” Lawrence told Deadline in October, indicating that he would bring back some of his creative collaborators for the Scrubs followup, which at the time he described as being “very close to being worked out.”
Lawrence told Deadline in the same interview that he envisions Scrubs 2.0 as a hybrid between a revival, revisiting original characters a decade and a half after the original series ended its run, and a reboot, revamping the original concept with new characters as the series is set to introduce new interns.
“We’ve been talking about a lot, and I think the only real reason to do it is a combo,” Lawrence said at the time. “A: people wanting to see what the world of medicine was like for the people they love, which is part of any successful reboot. But B: 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. 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.”
