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Scrubs Creator & Cast Discuss Revival's JD-Elliot, Cox Updates & More

Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence & stars Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke, John C. McGinley, and Judy Reyes deep dive into the premiere.

With the first two episodes of the Scrubs revival, there are some major developments at Sacred Heart involving the originals that set things in motion for our core trio of JD (Zach Braff), Turk (Donald Faison), and Elliot (Sarah Chalke), along with Chief of Medicine, Cox (John C. McGinley). To get this out of the way, no major character dies, but some serious life updates that set the tone for season 10. Creator Bill Lawrence, Braff, Faison, Chalke, McGinley, and Judy Reyes (Carla) spoke to Deadline about said major changes. Obviously, this is your major spoilers warning for "My Return" and "My 2nd First Day."

Scrubs Creator Bill Lawrence and Stars Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke, John C. McGinley, and Judy Reyes on Premiere Fallout

The first major bombshell is that the season eight happy ending, which saw JD and Elliot married, ended in divorce. They're still on speaking terms as friends, and maintain a co-existence with their mutual kids (that we don't see), but are still dealing with their ongoing issues that led to the divorce. "I was not disappointed, I thought it was great," Chalke said. "I thought it was the best way in because obviously, there's so much more opportunity for comedy and drama when you have two people that are not just fine and happily married and getting along. I think it opens up more possibilities for their storylines. And also in the original run, we had so much of, they're together, and then they break up. We had a lot of fun playing that in the original Scrubs, so, to do it in this iteration, I thought it was the best way to create conflict, and we had a good time."

Braff added, "And also to make it real. What J.D. sees projected on the sheet at the end of Season 8 is what he hopes and dreams will happen. But that doesn't necessarily come true, especially when you're 50 years old. Things that you didn't want to happen, happen. Some marriages fail, some don't. You have the contrast with Turk and Carla, where they're as happily married as ever, compared to us, who are learning now to co-parent and eventually work together. So I think it was a good way of also showing a wide array of how marriages can turn out in midlife.

As far as how the divorce affects Turk, who is also experiencing burnout with his time far more tied up with his expanding family and teenage children, "That's a lot like real life. Zach, myself and my wife, we hang out a lot," Faison said. "And if something were to happen, Zach and I are so stubborn that we wouldn't talk to each other, so we would need that somebody in the middle to make it happen, to bridge the gap. Elliot's like that with Carla and Turk. Even though her and J.D. broke up, the dynamic between Elliot and Turk shifted, even though she still hangs out with Carla, because J.D. is his best friend, and it was really important that the group still somehow stays together. Turk — I'm going to address this — he ignores it. And Elliot, being the brave person that she is, is the one that brings up an awkward conversation, and that's a testament to how tight this group is. To be able to do that, it's difficult. Everybody shies away from conflict, and Elliot didn't. I thought that was a great story point." "And it's such a thing that people go through in breakups of marriage, is there a loyalty on one side?" Chalke adds, "She actually ends up losing, Turk was one of her best friends, so I love how that was addressed."

One new character is Vanessa Bayer's HR rep Sibby Wilson, who's there to crack down particularly on behavior that's aged Scrubs more abrasive and juvenile antics might not age as well in 2026, which includes McGinley's Cox, whose brand of tough love and nicknames has left him feeling "this particular time has passed" him by. "Yeah, look, times change. I'm not afraid of this because people that whine about like, oh, it's hard to do comedy now, I think that you have to evolve with the zeitgeist of the time. I think that's one of the things that makes comedy fun, I think that funny always wins, and if you're going to be dangerous, you got to be careful and make sure it's funny," Lawrence said. "The one thing that held up from the original Scrubs is the humanity and the feeling that all these people in a teaching hospital were doing it because they were trying to be of service. The one thing that was canon was, the medical advisors all said, 'You can't make fun of the patients, and you have to show people that are actually sacrificing their lives to try and do good.'"

Reflecting on those changes, Lawrence took that extra step to be more empathetic, "But yeah, the comedy winds up with the actual show. In real life, interns and residents aren't nearly as abused and treated the way that they were back in those times. Doesn't mean that they aren't still stressed out, and doesn't mean they don't still burn out, but times have changed in the medical world as well." McGinley adds, "I think people who understand fatigue and being exhausted will understand Dr. Cox's dilemma."

It's something Carla has also seen as another season veteran at Sacred Heart as a senior nurse, "I think Carla functions in a bit of a similar capacity as Dr. Cox, passionate about what you do, worn out by what you do, but you can't help it, because you love it," Reyes said. "And you have to cope with the times and how that changes you. So in that regard, she's there because she loves the job, because she's got four kids, and her husband's the Chief of Surgery. The world of the hospital will have its effect on her the way it's had its effect on Cox later in the episode that you'll witness."

The bombshell at the end of the premiere episode, "My Return," is that Cox delayed discharging JD's patient and offered him the opportunity to replace him as Chief of Medicine after seeing him return to Sacred Heart. Especially after seeing intern Blake (David Gridley) crestfallen with regret and grief, after not going out of his way to see a desperate couple who are trying to get help, and the wife passing from her symptoms, but afraid of dealing with the costs of an ER visit, to which JD accepts.

For more on whether JD-Elliot will resume on-and-off again antics, Elliot's dating prospects, The Pitt comparisons, why Lawrence hesitated on revisiting Scrubs for so long, Braff's new approach to JD taking charge, more on Turk's burnout, and revisiting the fantasy sequences, you can check out the whole interview.

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