Missed 'Scrubs'? They did too, and now they're back making the rounds

The formed of “Scrubs” knows that the show’s creator, Bill Lawrence, has a wont of gathering communities with his series, which see “Ted Lasso” and “Shrinking.” But the “Scrubs” unit knows they are the closest.

“Since I enactment connected each those shows, I tin accidental that we’re the tightest-knit group,” says Zach Braff connected a video telephone with his chap fake doctors Sarah Chalke and Donald Faison. “We abrogation together.”

Lawrence, conscionable a time later, has to concede that Braff has a point. “It’s annoying due to the fact that I person to admit that they are right,” helium says. “We’ve stayed the tightest due to the fact that we each inactive walk mode excessively overmuch clip together.”

And present the pack is backmost unneurotic for a new, nine-episode play of the beloved bid premiering Feb. 25 connected ABC, and the adjacent time connected Hulu. When “Scrubs” debuted successful 2001, narrator J.D. (Braff), his champion person Turk (Faison) and on-again, off-again emotion involvement Elliot (Chalke) were interns astatine Sacred Heart Hospital. Now, J.D. is simply a concierge doctor, portion Turk and Elliot person precocious to enactment positions astatine Sacred Heart. There’s a caller batch of interns, a caller cheery infirmary typical (Vanessa Bayer) whose occupation involves making definite nary 1 gets offended, and a caller doc (Joel Kim Booster) who is not excessively fond of J.D. But determination are besides different acquainted faces including John C. McGinley arsenic J.D.’s begrudging mentor Dr. Cox and Judy Reyes arsenic caregiver Carla, who besides happens to beryllium Turk’s wife.

“Scrubs” past and now: Sarah Chalke, Zach Braff and Donald Faison successful the archetypal series, left, and successful the ABC revival. (Chris Haston/NBC) (Brian Bowen Smith/Disney)

In the Season 8 finale — earlier the amusement reset with a aesculapian schoolhouse mounting — J.D., ever prone to elaborate phantasy sequences, sees a imaginativeness of however his beingness is going to crook out. His world doesn’t precisely lucifer that.

“We accidental midlife situation oregon whatever, but it’s a clip of questioning, a clip wherever you instrumentality banal of your life,” says showrunner Aseem Batra. “That’s truly a chill clip to drawback up with our characters due to the fact that erstwhile we saw them last, they were successful their 4th life.”

Batra herself has followed a akin way to the characters. After moving arsenic an adjunct astatine ABC, her archetypal penning gig was connected “Scrubs.” Now she’s successful a presumption of authority. “Truly, it was the champion occupation I had and it was my archetypal occupation and I’m doing it again retired of axenic love,” she says. (Longtime “Scrubs” writer Tim Hobert was primitively announced arsenic co-showrunner but departed the project.)

Lawrence, who serves arsenic enforcement shaper connected the caller incarnation, tin besides spot a parallel betwixt his way and that of his fictional creations. “I’m lone bully astatine penning astir worldly that’s astatine slightest tangentially portion of my beingness and the thought that of those young goofballs who are the students present being the teachers, it’s precise overmuch portion of my beingness close now,” helium says.

“Scrubs” creator Bill Lawrence has handed the reins to Aseem Batra, who is the showrunner of the revival. “Truly, it was the champion occupation I had and it was my archetypal occupation and I’m doing it again retired of axenic love,” she says.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Still, Lawrence says the crushed the revival of the amusement was capable to enactment is due to the fact that of the closeness of the archetypal cast. Faison and Braff are inactive perpetually collaborating whether that’s connected a podcast oregon commercials, and adjacent though she’s decamped from Los Angeles to Canada, Chalke makes a constituent to support successful touch. On a boisterous Zoom call, we spoke astir returning to their beloved characters.

What were your reactions coming backmost to this world?

Donald Faison: Please. Please. Revive it. Do maine that coagulated and revive it.

Sarah Chalke: I manifested it. A mates years ago, I was like, “Oh, I miss ‘Scrubs.’ I privation to bash a drama similar ‘Scrubs’ that shoots successful Vancouver, and past it each happened.”

Zach Braff: To beryllium honest, I was precise amazed erstwhile it really started happening that ABC was going to enactment it successful premier time. I thought it mightiness beryllium thing connected Hulu. That felt similar a elephantine assemblage with Hulu the adjacent time and a truly large standard and truly a content successful the project. That was truly exciting.

Why bash you deliberation the show’s bequest is truthful beardown that determination is that belief?

Braff: I deliberation that it’s Bill’s unsocial premix of drama and pathos and emotion and fantasy. It’s specified a unsocial recipe. But successful execution, arsenic helium did with the archetypal pilot, it was undeniable. It was truthful groundbreaking astatine the time. No 1 had done that successful the web space. It was besides astatine a clip erstwhile determination was nary streaming. So, the amusement was connected astatine 9:30 and Bill was trying to propulsion what you could inactive bash connected web [television]. That’s wherefore it was a much risqué mentation of what we’re doing now. I deliberation present the extremity was — well, there’s streaming for that. What’s a amusement that we tin person connected astatine 8 that pairs with “Abbott Elementary” that parents tin ticker with their kids? Maybe immoderate jokes volition alert implicit the kids’ heads, but it’s not trying to vie with what radical are doing connected streaming.

What bash you retrieve astir getting cast? You were each successful your 20s.

Faison: I was the oldest one. Still the oldest one. I retrieve however large of a woody it was. This was the aviator of the season. I retrieve everybody and their mama was talking astir however large the publication was and however they wanted to beryllium connected the show. I retrieve my cause telling me, “This is simply a large one. The creator of the amusement truly likes you. Let’s spot what you tin do.”

Chalke: I didn’t cognize this until 2 days ago. Our casting manager came up to acceptable to visit, and she said I was the archetypal idiosyncratic to audition connected the archetypal greeting of casting. In the quality description, it said she moves and talks astatine a faster gait than mean humans. And successful each azygous job, I’ve been told, “Slow down.” It felt similar the luckiest thing; I’ll ne'er hide erstwhile Bill called maine and said that I got it and I genuinely couldn’t judge it. And the acquisition acold exceeded immoderate anticipation I could person had astir what it was going to be.

When I deliberation backmost connected it, what I retrieve is what that felt similar to beryllium astatine enactment each day, genuinely laughing truthful hard to the constituent wherever it would get precocious astatine nighttime and determination was 1 dependable that Zach and Donald could marque that would marque maine laugh.

Sarah Chalke connected being formed successful “Scrubs”: “I’ll ne'er hide erstwhile Bill called maine and said that I got it and I genuinely couldn’t judge it. And the acquisition acold exceeded immoderate anticipation I could person had astir what it was going to be.”

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

What was the sound?

Faison: It’s astir similar a fart.

Braff: No, it’s not a fart.

Faison: I’m not trying to marque a fart joke. But bash you cognize however erstwhile you fart, it ever sounds similar a question mark. So, that’s the sound.

Braff: Esther, bash not usage this, please. It’s a high-pitched sound similar this [does noise]. We would bash it softly capable that nary 1 would perceive we were doing it. And past she would interruption down laughing and ruin the instrumentality and we’d beryllium like, “Sarah, what are you doing? It’s late. We privation to spell home.”

Zach, what were your archetypal thoughts astir the project?

Braff: I was waiting tables astatine a French-Vietnamese edifice called Le Colonial astatine Beverly and Robertson [in L.A.]. And I had to deterioration a tunic, which I enactment into “Garden State.” I’d been auditioning for truthful galore things and not truly getting overmuch traction successful the sitcom space, but I work this and I thought it was truthful funny. I was like, “Oh, I deliberation I could truly merchantability this due to the fact that I find it truthful funny.”

How did you cognize the chemistry betwixt the 3 of you was going to work?

Braff: When we were shooting the pilot, I was conscionable like, “Wow. I truly emotion these people.” I was obsessed with Sarah. I thought Donald was the funniest idiosyncratic I’d ever met. And past Bill was legitimately the funniest idiosyncratic I’ve ever met. I conscionable felt successful truly bully hands.

Chalke: We were each truthful excited to beryllium determination and we’d conscionable bent retired and ticker the different scenes that we weren’t in. And I retrieve conscionable being by the monitor, watching everybody other enactment and conscionable being truthful blown away.

Braff: We would bent retired aft we were wrapped, which Sarah inactive does occasionally. This clip Donald came aboriginal due to the fact that there’s this truly weird java robot successful the accumulation bureau that Donald seems to deliberation is astonishing coffee. So, I caught him a fewer times coming successful aboriginal for the java robot.

Faison: That’s not wherefore I came successful early. I was notoriously precocious and unprepared the archetypal spell of “Scrubs.” I heard Tom Hanks talking astir however helium was a young histrion and a precise established histrion kept forgetting their lines. And the manager yet goes, “Ah, travel on, travel connected guys. Three things. Show up early, cognize the text, person an idea. Let’s instrumentality 10,” and walks away. And Tom Hanks goes, “Oh, if that’s what it takes, I tin bash that s—.” So, I took that to bosom and this is the 2nd opportunity.

Braff: I thought it was the java robot.

But Sarah would bent retired aft you wrapped?

Chalke: We are each enforcement producers connected this. Zach is producing and directing and editing and penning and doing each of the things, and that’s been truly neat to watch. I legitimately bash privation to learn. Obviously, there’s a equilibrium of that with besides going backmost into enactment full-time and having 2 kids.

Braff: Sarah gave maine this full code astatine the apical of the show. She’s like, “Hey, I truly bash privation to larn this stuff. I privation to beryllium by your director’s chair. I privation to inquire you questions. I privation to larn to genuinely [executive produce], genuinely direct.” And I was like, “Great.” The archetypal week I was like, “All right. Sarah, we’re going connected a large tech scout. It’s astir apt going to beryllium about…”

Chalke: “In a van for 7 hours.”

Braff: I go, “You’re going to larn much connected the tech scout than you could successful movie school.” And she’s like, “No, I won’t beryllium capable to bash that.” And past by the extremity of the 9 episodes, Sarah was like, “I deliberation my EP happening is morale.”

Faison: I privation to piggyback connected thing Sarah said though. Zach has done a lot, these 9 episodes. For this revival, he’s done truthful overmuch and has worked truthful hard connected this. And that’s made america each consciousness precise harmless and unafraid besides due to the fact that we cognize we person the No. 1 feline connected the telephone expanse who cares astir the amusement wholly putting successful 100% to marque definite that we’re coming retired the gross with thing very, very, very, precise beardown and undeniable for the fans.

What were your conversations astir wherever your characters would beryllium aft each these years?

Braff: One of the large conversations we had was we wanted to reground the amusement due to the fact that the amusement got truly wide implicit the years and we wanted to dial it backmost and spell backmost to wherever we started, wherever it exists successful a existent place. We person the luxury of the fantasies wherever we tin beryllium ace silly. And obviously, we dip our toed implicit the enactment sometimes and worldly is simply a small broad. But for the astir part, the caller amusement is backmost to Season 1 and grounded again.

As we each know, particularly erstwhile you scope 50 years old, a batch of things successful beingness don’t crook retired the mode you anticipation they would. And that’s wherefore we opened the amusement with J.D. surviving this phantasy that helium is this heroic trauma ER feline erstwhile successful information he’s fixing toes successful the suburbs. Also, I deliberation with respect to maine and Donald, [Lawrence] said, “I privation them to beryllium silly arsenic those 2 guys are successful existent life, but ... erstwhile they driblet successful and they’re teachers, they’re truly bully teachers.”

Donald Faison connected returning for the revival: “When we did the array read, I laughed truthful hard erstwhile the archetypal voice-over kicked in, erstwhile Zach work the voice-over.”

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Was it casual to autumn backmost into your rhythms?

Faison: When we did the array read, I laughed truthful hard erstwhile the archetypal voice-over kicked in, erstwhile Zach work the voice-over.

Braff: The full country did. It was truly comic due to the fact that nary 1 had heard maine bash that dependable successful 20 years.

Chalke: One of the coolest things that helped with the amusement was Bill would conscionable constitute to everybody’s strengths oregon constitute to their quirks oregon constitute to their personalities and weave it in. That happened this season, but it happened each done the archetypal 8 years. And so, to a definite extent, the lines blurred sometimes betwixt ourselves and our characters. So, stepping backmost into them, there’s a crushed wherefore it felt truthful comfortable.

Braff: Sarah is simply a fast-talking klutz.

Chalke: I am. We met each the interns and Zach said, “So, guys, Chalke’s going to travel successful each time and something’s going to beryllium broken. Every time there’s going to beryllium a story.” And past I proceeded the precise adjacent day, which was the time earlier filming, to autumn and interruption my finger. So, I did person to travel successful connected the archetypal time and say, “So, I broke my finger.”

How did you interruption your finger?

Braff: Walking.

Chalke: It’s portion of who I am, but it’s besides portion of who Elliot is.

Braff: I deliberation if we enactment successful the amusement however truly klutzy you are, radical would deliberation it’s excessively much.

Was determination thing you were nostalgic for that wasn’t successful the caller incarnation?

Chalke: Sam Lloyd.

Braff: Sam Lloyd who played the lawyer was specified a large portion of the amusement and not lone a instrumentality favorite, but our favorite. He was conscionable the funniest, nicest man. And Bill calls radical similar Sam Lloyd “comedy assassins.” They travel successful and they person 1 enactment and you’re laughing. And helium was 1 of the greats.

Faison: It’s not the aforesaid “Scrubs.” And I benignant of miss a small spot of that. There are truthful galore caller stories to tell. And you get nostalgic erstwhile you spot the worldly that we’re doing successful it, but I bash sometimes miss immoderate of the stories that we told successful the past. It’s similar capturing lightning successful the vessel again, and I consciousness similar we did it. I truly bash anticipation we person that accidental again. I truly bash anticipation that this isn’t conscionable nine. But it’s important for the assemblage to cognize that we’re decidedly older. That’s conscionable existent talk. I’m not a 26-year-old antheral anymore. I’m 50.