25 years after Sacred Heart Hospital first opened its doors, ABC is bringing fans back into the fictional hospital that has brought viewers countless laughs over the years!
On February 25, Scrubs will return to ABC’s lineup with a new revival that welcomes back all of our favorite characters, while introducing fans to a new class of interns and some amazing new faces. As ABC’s log-line teases, medicine has changed, interns have changed, but the bromance between JD and Turk has stood the test of time. Our favorite comedic duo are back in action navigating the waters of Sacred Heart once again and they’re not alone!
Among the many familiar faces scrubbing back in at Sacred Heart are Judy Reyes’ Nurse Carla and John C. McGinley’s Dr. Perry Cox, two key ingredients to the recipe of the show’s original success. The duo are back in action for the revival, bringing Carla and Dr. Cox back into our lives. While a lot has changed over the years, the Scrubs revival does a brilliant job of honoring the legacy of the characters without the show feeling stuck in the past.
It’s that lasting legacy that helped bring the show back to the air after all these years, and the continued support of the fans is not lost on the actors who have been there since day one.
Ahead of Scrubs’ return to ABC, we sat down with returning stars Judy Reyes and John C. McGinley to look back at the longtime success of the series and ahead to this new chapter in the show’s run!
I’d love to begin by asking you both do you recall your first reaction when you heard the revival was in the works and had been picked up to series?
Judy Reyes: We're like, oh shit, this is happening. [Laughs] I felt like it was creeping along once I started getting responses after COVID when a whole new generation was responding to the show. Then, Zach [Braff] and Donald [Faison] did the podcast [Fake Doctors, Real Friends with Zach and Donald], and then they were doing T-Mobile commercials. I was sure was coming back, I just didn't know when.
John C. McGinley: Yeah, those guys pushing it uphill and kind of perpetuating what was going on and that astonishing relationship they have in front of the lens and in real life, made it too seductive for ABC not to dip their toe in the pond.
Judy, you hinted at how the show really has enjoyed such a new revival in a sense of reaching new audiences. What has it been like seeing these fans who've been there from the very beginning, go along with the ride but also to see this new generation finding the show and it resonating with them?
Reyes: I love that question because it was during the pandemic and during the strike that I started having people come up to me and say, “Oh my God, are you on that show Scrubs?” and they're like in their twenties now. Realizing that the show is almost over 20 years old, and it was like, “It's my favorite show.”
I had a kid during the actors’ strike come up to me, and he goes, “Are you Carla from Scrubs?”
And he's like, “Are you kidding? Look,” and he shows me a tattoo that says, “I'm no Superman.” Then his mother comes over, is like, “It's my favorite show and now it's his favorite show, and he's a medical student.”
That's the kind of shit that makes you cry, you know, and that's the reaction that I've consistently had during Scrubs, that it's so authentic to life in a hospital and that they love the characters that we're all playing. I couldn't think of anything more rewarding as an actor.
What was it like for each of you stepping back into these iconic roles all these years later? Was there a specific moment where it really just set in?
McGinley: For me, it was like riding a bike. Bill [Lawrence] wrote the pilot and Bill writes the rhythms of Doctor Cox so specifically, and it fits my mouth like a hand in a glove; it was like getting on a bicycle.
Reyes: I feel the same way. It was like coming home for the holiday. We had a table read finally when everything was locked in, and it was seriously like we never left.
What has it been like rediscovering that chemistry with your former co-stars as well as working alongside the amazing new additions to the cast?
McGinley: I think the new, young actors are incredibly attractive, massively skilled, and when this show pops, they're gonna blow out of it. They're all really unique and gorgeous and skilled to the max. And I thought it was thrilling.
Reyes: They're really good. It was an incredibly well-cast, which speaks to all the things that Bill was very, very cautious about Scrubs. This revival has the same thing and it starts with the cast. They really went all out. We fell into place and having the five of them come in completely felt like we all belonged together and that's such an exciting thing.
Judy, you’re a huge part of the ABC family with High Potential as well. Starring in one hit series is a lot of work, let alone balancing two. What has that been like juggling these two massive shows at once?
Reyes: Hard at times, but really fun. I feel so grateful, you know, and like I'm meant to be here in this place. I'll say that both High Potential and Scrubs have been working really diligently and very generously to make sure that I'm able to do both. And Scrubs has been working very diligently to make sure that I get to play with the group, not just show up and stuff like that. And High Potential does the same thing. I feel very, very much respected and very part of two big families, and I couldn't ask for more.
What are you most excited for the show's fans to see as they dive into these new episodes?
McGinley: I'm most excited for them to see the new kids.
Reyes: Yeah and how they react to us being the mentors, being the Doctor Coxes to this new team because this new team has found their own rhythm, and I'm excited to see how they respond to all of us together.
McGinley: But also whatever landmines were stepped on in season 9, by the new kids there, like Davy Franco, who are all of them were terrific; they just went with a different flavor, these five. It's just very different than whatever mistakes were made season 9, which were not revisited in this revival.
As we wrap up, what is the one message you'd love to just give to the fans as they go into these new episodes?
McGinley: New Scrubs is as good as old Scrubs.
Reyes: Ditto.
You can watch our full interview below and don’t miss the return of Scrubs on Wednesday, February 25 with a two-episode premiere beginning at 8/7c on ABC!