<\/p>\n
NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Early in the first episode of the \u201cScrubs\u201d revival, Dr. John Dorian jumps onto Dr. Christopher Turk for a piggyback ride down the corridor of Sacred Heart Hospital like nothing’s changed in over a decade. But a lot has. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
For one, Turk, now a father of four, suffers from sciatica, cutting the tomfoolery short as they tumble to the ground. And, two, Dorian needs reading glasses. Turns out plenty has changed in the 17 years since \u201cScrubs\u201d last ended its run.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re still 12 years old every time they\u2019re together, but they\u2019re also still both leading very big, responsible adult lives,\u201d says Bill Lawrence, the show’s creator who has returned for the revival. \u201cIt just felt like it was time to revisit the old gang.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cScrubs\u201d \u2014 whose first two episodes premiere back-to-back Wednesday on ABC and stream next day on Hulu \u2014 picks up with the same characters all these years later, but this time, in addition to some physical wear and tear, the one-time interns are the teachers to a group of rookie doctors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cWe were new and we were scared as interns and scared in this new element of medicine and insecure and unsure of what we were doing,\u201d says Sarah Chalke, who plays Dr. Elliot Reid. \u201cSo to get to come back, we really have grown and really become great leaders and great teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n The revival retains Lawrence\u2019s voice for \u201cScrubs\u201d \u2014 pop culture-hyper-aware and surreal but always with sentiment. The cast admits the show became a little too cartoonish in later seasons, with an ostrich wearing a Kangol hat and J.D. stuffed into a backpack to sneak into a movie theater.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cBill Lawrence would be the first to say that what he really wanted to do was sort of ground it again and start back with the based-in-reality thing that we had in the first couple years of the show,\u201d says Zach Braff,<\/a> who plays Dr. Dorian. \u201cWe still have a mix of drama and comedy, but reset to based completely in reality.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n One thing that had to change was Dr. Perry Cox, the head of medicine played by John C. McGinley with stone-faced rage and fiery contempt. Back in the old days, he could humiliate and berate his interns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n That won’t fly in 2026: \u201cI can\u2019t work them crazy hours or even abuse them anymore,\u201d Cox complains in the revival, calling the new interns \u201cfragile little Christmas ornaments.\u201d One of the new interns says to him: \u201cYou\u2019re giving mean football coach vibes.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Lawrence in anticipation of the relaunch consulted medical residents to find out how hospitals and medicine had changed over the years and was told that administrators would have no patience with a brutal Cox in 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “All the residents we talked about told us that Dr. Cox would be fired immediately nowadays,\u201d says Lawrence. He also added Vanessa Bayer to the cast, playing an HR officer quick to suggest sensitivity training.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The first seven seasons of \u201cScrubs\u201d originally aired on NBC, but after Season 7 \u2014 which was shortened due to a writers strike \u2014 the series moved to ABC for Season 8. A ninth season with J.D., Turk, and Cox was called \u201cScrubs: Med School.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Braff and Faison \u2014 real friends offscreen \u2014 kept the show in fans’ minds with a string of T-Mobile commercials and a podcast that explored the episodes, Fake Doctors, Real Friends.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The end of Season 8 \u2014 the following season is not considered “Scrubs\u201d cannon \u2014 had J.D. having all his fantasies come true \u2014 marrying Elliot, having children and keeping up his friendship with Turk, who is married to head nurse Carla. That neat bow had to be jettisoned for 2026. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe knew from the start that we couldn\u2019t live in a world that all of his fantasies had come true,\u201d says Lawrence. \u201cLife throws you some blows and throws you to some victories. You drift from people you care about. Sometimes your world gets smaller. Sometimes things get harder and there still have to be mountains to overcome. So we really wanted to thematically show that journey of what the second stage of life looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n Central to the success of \u201cScrubs\u201d is the bromance between J.D. and Turk, which doesn\u2019t end when the cameras are turned off. The revival arrives as the topic of male loneliness and friendship is being debated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a half hour comedy, but it takes head on the idea of the joy that you can still find in being silly and having love in your life that isn\u2019t just your romantic love \u2014 the joy and love you have with your friends as a man in 2026,\u201d says Braff.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Faison adds: \u201cI value my friendship. I don\u2019t have many of them, but he’s the one friendship that I do have that I know I can count on, at least right now. Maybe in 10 years, he might change his mind on how he feels about me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “We\u2019ll see how you behave,\u201d Braff jokes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Lawrence says he often writes about male friendships because he grew up in a family that wasn’t very demonstrative emotionally. His other current titles include \u201cShrinking\u201d and \u201cTed Lasso,\u201d<\/a> which also explore bonding and mentoring.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n Back to reality for \u201cScrubs\u201d
\n <\/hl2><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n The central bromance of \u201cScrubs\u201d
\n <\/hl2><\/p>\n<\/div>\n