Scrubs is coming back — but can it live up to your memories?
Throughout a gag-packed nine seasons (eight if you ditch its fumbled, core-cast-free final outing), Scrubs made us laugh and cry in not-so-equal measure. Seriously. What started as J.D,'s (Braff)'s first day as a medical intern quickly transformed into a heartfelt journey through the lives of Sacred Hart's many inhabitants.
Read more: What happened to the cast of Scrubs?
From staff members like J.D.'s surgeon BFF Turk (Faison) and on-off-girlfriend and fellow medic Elliot (Chalke), to the fearsome nurse Carla (Judy Reyes) and fast talking Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley), Scrubs quickly made us care about its key players.
It also got us invested in their various patients, leaving fans reaching for the tissues on more than one stone-cold heartbreaking occasion (Cheers, Brendan Fraser).
The result was a show that wormed its way into the hearts of viewers, a metaphor that's quite apt considering Scrubs' frequent focus on weird medical ailments. News of its return makes it the latest in an increasingly lengthy list of fan-favourites that are set to make a comeback.
Read more: What we know about the Scrubs reboot as Zach Braff returns
Earlier this year, Frankie Muniz spoke highly of his time reuniting with his on-screen family for Disney+'s upcoming Malcolm in the Middle reboot Life's Still Unfair. Just a few weeks into 2025, news broke that 90's vamp-killing icon Buffy will be back too. Even America's take on The Office is prepping a return, with new spin-off series The Paper set to launch in September.
If you're a fan of the past, this is all undoubtedly music to your ears. However, have the intervening years made our nostalgic bonds with these shows so strong that no reboot can ever live up to the hype?
Don't get us wrong, news of a Scrubs reboot is definitely reason to rejoice. That said, perhaps its biggest threat lays in the very fans that clamoured after its return.
Those of us old enough to have grown up when Scrubs first aired will no doubt have fond memories of quite literally watching it to death.
Whether it was catching it on endless TV repeats or hitting play on the show's colourful DVD season box-sets until the discs wore thin, Scrubs quickly became one of those shows that transcended its status as just another workplace sitcom. Instead, it became something much more valuable to its many fans.
For many, its characters became friends and their familiarity may have helped some battle loneliness when they found themselves in new situations or alien environments. Throughout the late noughties, a university dorm wasn't complete without a few Scrubs DVD discs littered around an already litter-filled bedroom.
Meanwhile, others may have relied on the show's goofy humour for some much-needed distraction during tricky times. While it's a hard thing to quantify, it's easy to see how J.D.'s daydreams could help someone forget about a break-up or the Janitor's (Neil Flynn) jibes could lift spirits while ill.
Scrubs is the same type of therapeutic remedy that later bingeable hits like Peep Show and The Office currently hold for the generation of pop-culture fans that followed the Scrubs generation. These aren't just intangible hypotheticals either, they're something that the show's cast have heard about regularly since the show came to an end.
'People really have reached out to let us know when they were going through a hard time, and what a difference Scrubs made to them,' Chalke told The Independent back in 2021.
'We have people reaching out saying 'This is why I became a doctor' – actually saving people's lives instead of us just pretending to. It feels like such an honour.'
Reyes echoed the sentiment during the same article, highlighting a period where pop-culture became everyone's saving grace: 'People can relate to it in so many different ways – particularly during the pandemic," she explained. "So many things that we touched upon completely resonate with everyone.'
Just like in the show itself, this very modern issue was diagnosed neatly by Dr. Cox actor McGinley. 'If you get to be part of something that resonates, that's a big deal," he told the outley, "and Scrubs resonated.'
He's not wrong. Scrubs - much like other shows of its vintage - did resonate with fans and for many, those bonds remain as strong today as they did when they were first forged.
While it'll no doubt be fun to see J.D., Turk, Elliott and the rest of Sacred Heart's finest back on our screens, it'll be interesting to see if they still have the power to save us all once more.
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