The Scrubs Reboot Has Set Its First Returning Actor, And I’m So Excited The Comedy Series Is One Step Closer To Coming Back

There are certain comedies that were formative in my teenage years and helped develop the sense of humor. Scrubs is one of those shows, not to mention that it ranks as one of the best sitcoms of all time. So you can imagine that I was excited when it was announced in December that a Scrubs reboot is in development for ABC. Now my excitement has kicked up a notch, as word’s come in that Zach Braff is the first returning actor to sign on for the reboot.

Although it was said in December that plans were in motion to bring back Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke and John C. McGinley for this new iteration of Scrubs, Deadline reports that Braff has signed a deal to reprise John “J.D.” Dorian. According to the publication, the negotiations hit “major hurdles” over both money and Braff wanting to shoot Scrubs 2.0 (as I’ll be informally calling it) in Los Angeles rather than Vancouver as originally intended. Apparently things got to a point where there was a chance the reboot could be scrapped, but the two sides recently “came to an agreement,” although a filming location still hasn’t been revealed.

While Scrubs 2.0 hasn’t technically been ordered to series yet, Zach Braff coming aboard definitely improves the chances of that happening. A Scrubs reboot had been discussed for years, but it wasn’t until creator Bill Lawrence worked out a special arrangement to tackle the project that it finally started getting off the ground. Lawrence is still exclusively signed with Warner Bros. Television, where he’s created shows like Ted Lasso, Shrinking and Bad Monkey. It took months for him to be granted clearance to work on Scrubs 2.0, although he won’t be the showrunner like last time.

Zach Braff and Bill Lawrence continued to work together in the years after Scrubs (which can be streamed with a Hulu subscription) ended in 2010. Braff cameoed in an episode of Lawrence’s follow-up sitcom Cougar Town, directed episodes of Ted Lasso and Shrinking, and also appeared in two episodes of Bad Monkey. Additionally, he and Lawrence are working on the “Untitled Steve Carell Project” in development for HBO.

Now that Braff is on deck for Scrubs 2.0, Deadline says that 20th Century Television will begin negotiations for Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke, John C. McGinley and Judy Reyes to reprise their roles too. Reyes is currently a series regular on ABC’s High Potential, so it’s hard to say if scheduling conflicts would prevent her participation as a series regular. It’s also unclear if we can expect to see Ken Jenkins and Neil Flynn return for Scrubs 2.0, as they rounded out the main cast that anchored the original show for all but its final season.

We’ll continue passing along updates on how Scrubs 2.0 is coming along. Signing Zach Braff is excellent news, but this project has a long way to go before it reaches our eyes and ears.