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Scrubs Season 2 Wishlist: Where ABC's Revival Could Go From Here

The first season of ABC's Scrubs revival hit all the right notes. If a second season happens, here's where we could see the series going...

Published Sat, 25 Apr 2026 09:37:07 -0500

by Tom Chang

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Article Summary

Scrubs season 2 should build on the revival’s strong balance of legacy stars and new interns with a bigger episode order.
Bringing back Dan Dorian and more family stories could deepen JD, Elliot, Turk, Carla, Cox, and Jordan in fresh ways.
Scrubs can strengthen season 2 by showing the core cast as parents and exploring how family shapes life at Sacred Heart.
Season 2 should revive more Scrubs favorites, from Kelso and Janitor to Med School standouts, while honoring Ted Buckland.

With season one of the Scrubs revival in the books or "season 10" in proper canon, creator Bill Lawrence and showrunner Aseem Batra have seemingly done the impossible in first, reestablishing the magic of the show's first eight seasons by refocusing on the series' core cast of Zach Braff (JD), Donald Faison (Turk), and Sarah Chalke (Elliot), and shine a bright light to the current core of new interns, which was the original intent of season nine, clocking in at just nine episodes, which is less than what fans are typically accustomed to since seasons 1-6 topped over 20 episodes each, season seven only having 11 seasons due to the 2007-8 WGA strike, season eight having 19 with the series' first on ABC, and season nine with 13 as the branded transitional "Med School" before its initial cancellation.

With 2026's revival season, we're not only reintroduced to the core trio, but we also have favorites in Cox (John C. McGinley), who stuck around for season nine in the main cast; and Carla (Judy Reyes), who was missing in season nine, back into the fold, but in a recurring capacity due to their commitments to their respective shows like Apple TV's Rooster and ABC's High Potential. Other returning/recurring favorites were Phill Lewis' Dr. Hooch and Robert Maschio's The Todd. As a final surprise, we had two more one-off returns in Christa Miller's Jordan Sullivan and Neil Flynn's Janitor in the season finale. Anchoring the new additions are Vanessa Bayer's HR Rep Sibby Wilson, Joel Kim Booster's Dr. Kevin Park, Michael James Scott's Nurse Francois Dubois, X Mayo's Nurse Pippa Raymond, Eddie Leavy's IT specialist Raffi, Darcy Michael's Maintenance Guy, and playing the interns are Ava Bunn as Dr. Sam Tosh, Jacob Dudman as Dr. Asher Green, Amanda Morrow as Dr. Dashanna Trainer, Layla Mohammadi as Dr. Amara Hadi, and David Gridley as Dr. Blake Lewis.

As we got a balance between expanding on the originals' stories and introducing new characters in an organic manner, here is my list of suggestions to make the revival even stronger next season, which Scrubs needs to do to grow further without hamstringing the newer elements. This list becomes more practical if ABC provides more than nine episodes, should they renew the series

Scrubs Season 2 Wishlist: Where ABC's Revival Could Go From Here — (Disney/Darko Sikman)
AVA BUNN, JUDY REYES, DAVID GRIDLEY, SARAH CHALKE, JACOB DUDMAN, AMANDA MORROW, LAYLA MOHAMMADI

Scrubs: What Season Two of the Revival Should Do.

Reintroduce Family Members

One of Scrubs biggest strengths is the connective tissue of family introduced throughout the series' initial eight seasons. While it would be nearly impossible to provide a thorough update for every character, it would be nice to have some updates on some of the more memorable ones. The first on my list would be JD's brother Dan Dorian, played by Tom Cavanagh, who has appeared in seven episodes across seasons 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8. While the Dorian brothers have had an intriguing relationship regarding where they are in their lives, it's always big brother Dan, who gets on JD's nerves, looking out for his brother. Seeing where JD's life is now, in regard to his own family and as Chief of Medicine at Sacred Heart, could definitely be an episode worth exploring.

Scrubs: Season 2 Wishlist for ABC to Consider If They Renew [OPINION] — Zach Braff and Tom Cavanagh in "Scrubs." Image courtesy of 20th Century Studios/ABC

Another JD-related element, which would also include Elliot, Turk, Carla, Jordan, and Cox, would be bringing the kids back. We met the Turks' four children in the revival's premiere, but never saw them again, which is, unfortunately, understandable given how much the series is trying to reestablish its main characters. For example, "My Best Friends BBQ" never actually features the BBQ at any point in the episode, yet the plot points still land. But it doesn't take that much time to remind viewers that they're all parents with children still very much in their lives, which includes JD's kid with Elliot, Ollie, who is only mentioned, as is his kid with Kim (Elizabeth Banks), Sam Perry Gilligan Dorian. No time was spent seeing JD as a father beyond mentions and a sequence in which he tries to build a crib and fails. That doesn't even go into Perry and Jordan's kids in Jack and Jennifer Dylan, who both would probably be concerned about their father with the diagnosis, and I wouldn't think that Jordan, at least, would keep that information from them.

Tap Into More Favorites and Embrace "Med School" Season

There are so many recurring favorites in Scrubs who are happy to make their mark in the show, but might have moved on. Maschio was largely retired from acting and living a happy life as a Real Estate agent before coming back as the fan favorite surgeon, even if The Todd hasn't exactly aged well as a character. Batra also noted that she would like to see Johnny Kastl's Dr. Doug Murphy return, but the actor is currently happy as a lawyer, which could be to the series' benefit, considering it hasn't replaced the last one we know of. Doug was part of the original intern class since Scrubs season one, but found his calling working in the morgue. Lawrence promised fans that Ken Jenkins' Dr. Bob Kelso, Sacred Heart's original Chief of Medicine, will make a return should ABC renew the series for season two. So, who else could Batra and Lawrence tap into?

Obviously, Miller's Jordan and Flynn's Janitor make sense, especially now that Janitor's son, Maintenance Guy, looks like he'll continue his war with JD at the close of season 10. Others I'd like to see are Manley Henry's "Snoop Dogg Attending," Geoff Stevenson's Dr. Seymour Beardfacé, Charles Chun's Dr. Phillip Wen, Frank Encarnacao's Dr. Mickhead (who was mentioned in the premiere), Mike Schwartz's speed metal loving delivery driver Lloyd, Aloma Wright (whatever nurse or staff position they want to play), Eliza Coupe's snarky and blunt Dr. Denise Mahoney, and boldly, the season nine interns. I think it would be intriguing to see Michael Mosley's Dr. Drew Suffin cross paths with Gridley's Blake as they enter med school, both older than their contemporaries. The last addition I would like to see is either Kate Miccucci, reprising her role as musician Stephanie Gooch, or recruiting Christopher Lloyd for a role to pay tribute to Sam Lloyd and his lawyer character, Ted Buckland, and the legacy he had on the show. Miccucci, because I'm sure fans would be curious about what her life with Ted was like, since leaving Sacred Heart, or Sam's real-life uncle, to expand on the Buckland family.

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