It looks like there may be good news for Scrubs fans! Yesterday, E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos announced that there's a rumor going around that ABC might be picking up the series for as many as 18 episodes.
Since the writers strike put a halt in the production of what was meant to be the final season of the NBC comedy series, there was some concern (to put it mildly) among fans as well as the series creator, Bill Lawrence as to whether or not we'd even get to see the ending of the series. The very idea that this show, which has been on the air for seven seasons should end without a real ending seems kind of ridiculous. Granted, the series was never huge in comparison to some of NBC's other shows but it does have a very loyal fanbase and it deserves to have a proper conclusion.
According to the E! Online article, whatever options NBC was giving Lawrence to close out the series (possibly a one-episode farewell or a straight-to-DVD special) weren't good enough. Well if NBC isn't able to give the show the conclusion it deserves, perhaps ABC will if the rumors are true and the series really is going to make the jump from the peacock to ABC. It would certainly give ABC an actual comedy series that people would watch. They could even slide it into the Tuesday night time slot in place of their failed Cavemen series.
The rumor has apparently gotten NBC a bit stirred up. Variety reported last night that NBC Entertainment/Universal Media Studios co-chair Marc Graboff stated, "NBC has a license agreement with ABC Studios, which includes a right of first negotiation and first refusal to extend the series term beyond this season.". The article went on to say that the network is in talks with ABC over the fate of the series and whether or not they (NBC) will commit to a big series finale. NBC wants assurances that if they do shell out the money for a big finale, that ABC wouldn't then take the show over to their network and air another 18 episodes.
It's probably best if Scrubs fans don't get their hopes up for another 18 episodes of the series but I'm thinking that it does seem likely at this point that the show will get some kind of ending once NBC and ABC can come to an agreement. In the meantime, let's hope that NBC doesn't go the lame DVD ending route. Is their summer line-up so full that they can't spare 30 minutes a week to air the rest of the series?
