8 Ways Scrubs’ Revival Will Be Different From The Original Show Over 15 Years After Med School (2025)

With Scrubs showrunner Bill Lawrence officially signed on to make more episodes of the medical sitcom, speculation can begin in earnest about what the show's comeback will look like. The Scrubs revival has been rumored for a while now, and its confirmation is very exciting news for the show's devoted following. While Scrubs season 10 will certainly have its challenges given the failure of its brief Med School era that led to its cancelation in 2010, there is still plenty to look forward to. Solid details are scarce, but certain facets of the Scrubs revival can be softly assumed.

Not all nine seasons of Scrubs followed the same formula. While Scrubs seasons 1-8 had a signature way of storytelling, Scrubs season 9 made some pretty notable alterations to how the show was made. Everything from the sitcom's cast, location, and even how it looked, all transformed. For example, not every doctor in Scrubs seasons 1-8 factored into the Med School plans. Although it was a noble attempt to keep Scrubs going, the disappointing changes present issues for the show when it returns.

8 Scrubs Season 10 Is Unlikely To Be As Long As Previous Seasons

Streaming sitcoms are generally far shorter than their network TV counterparts

Scrubs was a network TV show during its original run. As such, most of its seasons consisted of 20+ episodes, with some exceptions. For example, Scrubs season 7 was impacted by the 2007–2008 writers' strike and was just 13 episodes long as a result. Similarly, Scrubs season 9 was also just 13 episodes long, but this time, it was by design. With the sitcom now owned by Disney, it's likely that Scrubs season 10 will premiere on Hulu rather than in the traditional way, and streaming shows often only boast around 10 episodes per season.

Zach Braff and Donald Faison have discussed the Scrubs production schedule from their time on the show while talking on the official rewatch podcast, Fake Doctors, Real Friends. Oftentimes, the cast and crew would be making the show for up to 16 hours a day, 5 days a week. This could explain why many shows have become shorter in recent times, as such a timetable sounds incredibly grueling. As further evidence, Frasier season 11 ended with 24 episodes in 2004, whereas the show's 2023 revival brought with it a season of just 10 installments.

7 The Scrubs Revival Can't Be Set At The Old Sacred Heart

Scrubs season 10 will need to live with Med School's huge location change

When the thought of Scrubs 10 comes to mind, it's easy to imagine Zach Braff's Dr. John "JD" Dorian and company darting around the halls of the original Sacred Heart Hospital. However, although the first eight seasons were shot on-site at a genuine decommissioned hospital, the famous Scrubs set was demolished in 2011. Scrubs season 9 was made while the building was still standing, but Bill Lawrence had already decided to move on and make Med School on a traditional sound stage.

Even within the world of Scrubs, JD confirms in the Med School pilot that the old hospital was torn down, and a new one was built in its place with the same name. So, Scrubs season 10 will presumably also be set at the new Sacred Heart, and that possibility already makes the show's comeback concerning. The Med School set lacked a lot of the character that had come to be expected, so it won't be a small obstacle to overcome.

6 The Original Scrubs Cast & Crew Will All Be Far More Experienced In Season 10

The Scrubs revival will have more acting veterans than ever before

Although Scrubs did cast some veteran actors in key roles the first time around, the show was a breakout project for many of the younger stars. As such, they grew up with the sitcom, and they could be witnessed growing evermore comfortable onscreen and more confident playing their characters. They worked on other projects while also starring in Scrubs, but their respective workloads haven't reduced since the sitcom ended. All that experience will benefit Scrubs season 10 when they return to reprise their roles.

Showrunner Bill Lawrence has also been incredibly busy in his post-Scrubs career, launching several shows that have been smash hits - primarily with Apple TV+. As well as serving as the Ted Lasso showrunner, Lawrence has also had significant input into Bad Monkey and Shrinking. Some of his more recent projects have included reunions with members of the Scrubs cast and crew, as evidenced by Zach Braff's Bad Monkey cameo. So, Scrubs' comeback has been foreshadowed for a while now in differing contexts.

5 Turk & JD's Immaturity Will Need To Be Toned Down In Scrubs Season 10

Scrubs' best friendship has to adapt (just a little)

Braff and Faison were playing relatively young men in Scrubs seasons 1-9, and as such, they sometimes conducted themselves with a certain lack of self-awareness when it came to their zany exploits. Although this continued throughout the show's run, and even into Med School, they were gradually becoming less cartoonish in their displays of affection and friendship. It was all still there, but it also felt far more befitting of senior doctors without losing its charm. Given that around 15 years will have passed since then, it only makes sense that this change will have continued.

Turk and JD's wholesome and unabashed celebration of their platonic male friendship was one of Scrubs' biggest hallmarks, and it wasn't really something that was done so shamelessly in other sitcoms at the time. So, it should definitely still be a big part of the Scrubs revival. That being said, with both men now fathers to at least two children each, it would be understandable if their reckless adventures had now been toned down a little.

4 Scrubs Season 10 Is Unlikely To Try And Separate Itself From The Original Cast As Med School Did

The original Scrubs cast's phased departure in season 9 didn't work

Part of why Scrubs season 9 crashed and burned so spectacularly was the fact that it was clearly trying to step away from established characters. Although certain figures like John C. McGinley's Dr. Cox did remain as part of the Med School cast, he wasn't featured quite so prominently, nor did he have any kind of meaningful dynamic with any of the newer doctors. Similarly, Braff's phased departure meant the torch had been passed to Kerry Bishé as Lucy Bennett to be the show's primary storyteller. The more known characters moved away, the less the appeal became.

Lawrence has already confirmed he wants to introduce new Scrubs characters again alongside the old ones when the sitcom comes back. The biggest difference this time around is that the sitcom has been inert for 15 years, and the original cast seems very enthusiastic about coming back. So, presumably, there won't be the same desire from the writers to slowly move away from Turk, JD, Elliot, and the others. Instead, they'll probably co-exist with younger doctors, as they did in Scrubs season 8.

Bill Lawrence bringing Scrubs back means finding a new fan base while pleasing the old one

Scrubs was never quite as broadly popular as some of its contemporaries, such as Friends. While certain sitcoms from the 2000s are often finding newer audiences decades after the finale, Scrubs hasn't experienced that on nearly the same level. So, it's mainly the original fan base that regularly discusses the show and keeps it in the zeitgeist. A successful Scrubs revival could change all of that, as it's unlikely that Lawrence could make the show's comeback accessible only to those who are already familiar with the characters.

In other words, Scrubs season 10 will probably be a continuation of the original sitcom while also serving as a good jumping-on point, just as Scrubs season 9 was trying to be. This way, new and younger audiences will be able to start watching without the need to watch 182 episodes of a sitcom that hadn't previously cared about. Plus, with many of the main characters from the show's original run set to be parents to teenagers, it means Scrubs will become generational in more ways than one.

2 Certain Scrubs Characters From The Original Run Will Be Missing

Sam Lloyd's Ted Buckland will be a glaring absence from Scrubs season 10

In an ideal world, Scrubs season 10 would bring back every beloved character from the show's original run. Unfortunately, that simply isn't possible. Firstly, the death of Sam Lloyd in 2020 sadly means Ted the Lawyer can't be part of the Scrubs revival. There's the possibility that Lawrence will give him an offscreen story to accommodate his absence, but that's pretty much the only way he can respectfully be part of the revival. Ted may not be the only absence, though.

Johnny Kastl's retirement from acting and transition into a career as a lawyer means Dr. Doug Murphy probably won't appear, and if he does, it may only be a small cameo. Similarly, Dr. Bob Kelso's return is made less likely by the fact that actor Ken Jenkins hasn't acted since 2019, and could be argued to be softly retired. Hopefully, he can be tempted back, even if just for a brief time. Although Judy Reyes' commitment to appearing as part of the High Potential cast brings Carla's return into question, Deadline reports it is still possible.

1 Scrubs Can Do More On Streaming Than It Could As A Network TV Show

Bill Lawrence can make Scrubs season 10 with fewer restrictions

Scrubs quite often pushed the envelope regarding what was considered acceptable on a network TV sitcom. It was no stranger to unusually raunchy moments, and certain storylines got very dark at times. Although certain Scrubs trends had to adapt to survive when Disney bought the show - like the Todd's banana hammock scenes - it largely managed to weather the storm and stay true to itself in the face of network TV restrictions.

Although Scrubs season 10's presumed release on Hulu won't free the show of all narrative constraints, it will still be able to explore many more facets than it was allowed to the first time around. Things like swearing and sexual content are a little more permissible on streaming services, even on Disney-owned platforms like Hulu. So, it will be very interesting to see what Scrubs is like with fewer broadcast regulations - including how long the episodes themselves will be.

Source: Deadline

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Scrubs

Comedy

Drama

Scrubs is a Sitcom and Medical Comedy/Drama created by Bill Lawrence that follows a group of medical students throughout their daily lives at the Sacred Heart Teaching Hospital. The series stars Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, and Donald Faison, as they work their way up from Medical Interns while juggling all sorts of hospital shenanigans.

Where to Watch

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*Availability in US

Release Date

October 1, 2001

Cast

John C. McGinley , Robert Maschio , Donald Faison , Christa Miller , Neil Flynn , Judy Reyes , Aloma Wright , Zach Braff , Sarah Chalke , Sam Lloyd , Ken Jenkins

Seasons

9

Showrunner

Bill Lawrence