Over the past year, Scott Foley has been seen on both TV and movie theater screens, though a lot has particularly been said about the veteran actor’s work in the latter medium. He had a recurring role on the hit ABC show Will Trent, though his stint on the procedural ended earlier this year with his character getting killed off. Foley then landed a since-canceled Prime Video show, with WT fans later asking that he return to the fold as a result. Yet Foley is now returning to the network to reprise a role on a very different show.
During D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, Foley moderated a Scrubs panel, where it was revealed that he’d be reprising his recurring role as Sean Kelly on the second season of ABC’s revival. Per Deadline’s reporting, Sean’s return will be quite poetic, as he’ll once again be dating Sarah Chalke’s Elliot Reid. This development coincides with Elliot’s ex-husband, John “J.D.” Dorian (Zach Braff), starting his own romance with Charlie (Rachel Bilson).
Several Scrubs stars were present at the panel, including Braff and Chalke, who hyped up how Kelly’s new romance with Elliot will shake up the proceedings. Of the interactions between the quartet, Braff said, “the dynamic with us all together is just hilarious, and we’re having so much fun.” Chalke also noted that the writers decided to have Sean reappear as a way to “bring back Elliot’s neurosis.” Take a look at the teaser below to see a snippet of Foley’s reprisal:
Braff previously teased that more OG characters would appear for Season 2, and Foley’s return as Sean is definitely a sweet surprise. His re-emergence could also contribute to some truly entertaining storylines on the beloved workplace comedy. On the other side of this equation, though, Will Trent fans may be licking their wounds a bit.
Throughout the third and fourth seasons of Trent (which are streamable with a Hulu subscription), Foley played Dr. Seth McDale, a love interest for Erika Christensen’s Angela Polaski. In Season 4’s finale, the pair get into a car accident while heading to the hospital after Angie goes into labor. Angie eventually delivers her baby, though Seth dies of severe injuries at the hospital. Series EP and co-showrunner Liz Heldens later explained that the death needed to happen in order to provide a “reset” with some new energy.
Seth’s demise seemed quite definitive but, after Scott Foley’s show – It’s Not Like That – was canceled after one season at Prime Video, fans still campaigned for Foley to return. Many of them reasoned that Seth could be brought back by way of flashbacks and/or dream sequences. Some viewers even reasoned that Seth’s death could be retconned in a wild way. However, the chances of such a return happening honestly seemed slim even before Foley landed his Scrubs gig.
Despite that, I’d imagine that Seth’s absence will loom large over the surviving Will Trent characters by the time Season 5 premieres in early 2027. The producers may even have him appear in a flashback or have Angie hallucinate him amid her grieving process. Only time will tell if either of those scenarios or another will pan out but, for now, fans of Foley will surely be delighted to see him return to the world of Scrubs.
The second season of the Scrubs revival debuts on ABC on September 30 amid the 2026 TV schedule. Prepare for the new episodes by streaming the previous season on Hulu.
