The doctors of Sacred Heart Hospital are back — older, wiser, and a little worse for wear.
The beloved medical comedy “Scrubs” officially returns Wednesday, with a two-episode premiere on ABC at 8 p.m. EST, with new episodes streaming the following day on Hulu. The revival arrives more than 17 years after the show’s original run and reunites virtually the entire original cast under the direction of series creator Bill Lawrence.
Zach Braff returns as the perpetually daydreaming Dr. John “J.D.” Dorian, Donald Faison is back as his best friend Dr. Christopher Turk, and Sarah Chalke reprises her role as Dr. Elliot Reid. John C. McGinley and Judy Reyes return in recurring roles as Dr. Perry Cox and nurse Carla, respectively, with guest appearances expected from Christa Miller as Jordan and Neil Flynn as the Janitor. Ken Jenkins, who played Dr. Bob Kelso in the original series, does not appear in the revival.
One notable addition to the cast is Vanessa Bayer, who plays an HR officer with a fondness for suggesting sensitivity training — a character that speaks directly to how much the workplace dynamics at Sacred Heart have had to evolve.
Same hospital, different world
The revival picks up the story of J.D., Turk, and company roughly 16 years after the events of Season 8 — the series’ accepted endpoint, as the ninth season, “Scrubs: Med School,” is not considered canon. J.D. and Elliot are now married with two children, while Turk and Carla have four kids of their own (and Turk has developed sciatica, which cuts short at least one ill-advised piggyback ride in the premiere). The former interns are now the ones doing the teaching, mentoring a fresh crop of rookie doctors navigating Sacred Heart’s hallways.
“We were new and we were scared as interns,” Chalke told the Associated Press. “So to get to come back, we really have grown and really become great leaders and great teachers.”
Mr. Lawrence said he wanted to pull the show back toward the grounded, emotionally resonant tone of its early seasons after the later years veered into increasingly cartoonish territory. “We still have a mix of drama and comedy, but reset to based completely in reality,” Mr. Braff told AP.
Dr. Cox meets his match
Perhaps the biggest adjustment in the revival involves Dr. Perry Cox, the withering, sharp-tongued attending physician who spent the original series terrorizing interns with creative insults and impossible standards. That approach, Mr. Lawrence acknowledged, would not survive contact with 2026.
Before production, Mr. Lawrence consulted with actual medical residents about how hospital culture had shifted and came away with a clear verdict: a Cox-style mentor would be shown the door immediately in today’s environment. In the revival, Cox himself seems to recognize the bind he’s in, grumbling about his inability to work residents to exhaustion or berate them freely. One new intern sums up the situation succinctly, telling him he’s giving off “mean football coach vibes.”
Bromance, male friendship, and the second act
At the heart of the revival — as it was in the original — is the friendship between J.D. and Turk. Mr. Braff and Mr. Faison have remained close off-screen, keeping fan interest alive in recent years through a podcast called “Fake Doctors, Real Friends” and a series of T-Mobile commercials together. The show’s return comes at a moment when male loneliness and friendship have become prominent cultural conversations, something Mr. Braff says the revival addresses directly.
Mr. Lawrence, whose other current projects include “Shrinking” and “Ted Lasso,” has made the exploration of male bonds and mentorship something of a career throughline. He traces the impulse back to his own upbringing. “I started very young writing about friendships and, maybe on some level, the wish fulfillment of how personal I truly hoped they could be,” he told AP.
How to Watch
The “Scrubs” revival premieres Wednesday on ABC at 8 p.m. EST with back-to-back episodes. New episodes will air weekly on ABC and stream the following day on Hulu. The season consists of nine episodes, with the possibility of renewal. Viewers without cable can access ABC through DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo TV, or YouTube TV. All past seasons of “Scrubs” are also available to stream on Hulu.
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