The doctors are finally back on duty. After more than 15 years since Scrubs ended its original run, the cast is reuniting for a revival series that will premiere on February 25, 2026, on ABC. But before Zach Braff agreed to put on his scrubs one more time as John “J.D.” Dorian, he had one major condition that creator Bill Lawrence had to agree to first.
The revival brings back beloved characters to the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital, but viewers should not expect the same J.D. they remember from the early 2000s. Braff made it clear from the very beginning that his character needed to reflect the reality of getting older.
Why Zach Braff Refused to Play the Same J.D.
When discussions about bringing Scrubs back first started, Braff sat down with Lawrence to talk about what the show would look like in 2026. The actor had one non-negotiable request that shaped the entire direction of the revival.
Bill Lawrence revealed to The Hollywood Reporter what Braff told him during those early conversations. “One of the first things Zach Braff said was, ‘I cannot be a 50-year-old doing the same things. I have to be older, I have to be more mature’” .
This demand came from a place of honesty about aging. Braff is now 50 years old, and he did not want to pretend otherwise on screen. Lawrence understood completely and shared a story from the original series to explain why Braff’s request made so much sense.
“I remember once during like the eighth season of the original show, a journalist asking Zach how do you think your character has changed since the first year. He goes, ‘I think I have a beard now.’ Television can’t do that anymore,” Lawrence recalled.
The message was clear. A revival in 2026 could not simply pick up where the show left off in 2010. Characters had to show real growth and life experience.
What a More Mature J.D. Looks Like in the Revival
Braff recently opened up more about how this mature version of J.D. will actually play out on screen. During a conversation with the cast, he explained the balancing act between keeping the character’s silly side while showing real adulthood.
“We are real adults. Joking aside, one of the mandates from Bill and myself was, we don’t want them to be children,” Braff said. He clarified that while the characters will still have their humorous moments, they will handle serious situations like grown-ups.
“Obviously, silly guys, but when things get serious, they drop in and they’re adults, whether it’s dealing with their children or dealing with relationships exploding, or, most importantly, dealing with the emergencies of the patients and teaching these young crop of interns, that’s all played real,” Braff explained.
This approach makes sense for where J.D. would be in his life now. He is no longer the young, daydreaming intern trying to figure out his career and love life. He is now an experienced doctor returning to teach a new generation of medical students.
The Official Storyline for the Scrubs Revival
ABC released the official logline for the revival, giving fans a clear picture of what to expect when the show returns. According to the description, “J.D. and Turk scrub in together for the first time in a long time. Medicine has changed, interns have changed, but their bromance has stood the test of time. Characters new and old navigate the waters of Sacred Heart with laughter, heart and some surprises along the way”.
The first teaser trailer, released in November 2025, showed J.D. walking back into Sacred Heart and yelling, “I’m back, baby!” The moment captured the excitement of the return, but also showed the reality of the situation. The new group of young interns had no idea who he was.
Which Original Cast Members Are Returning
The revival brings back several familiar faces along with Braff. Donald Faison returns as Christopher Turk, J.D.’s best friend and fellow doctor. Sarah Chalke is back as Dr. Elliot Reid. Judy Reyes will reprise her role as Nurse Carla Espinosa, and John C. McGinley returns as the cranky but beloved Dr. Perry Cox.
Robert Maschio and Phill Lewis are also slated to return as Dr. Todd Quinlan and Hooch.
Braff shared on his podcast Fake Doctors, Real Friends with Zach and Donald that many other original stars will appear throughout the season. “Everybody’s coming back. Not everybody’s going to be in every episode. Clearly, you have to work around everyone’s schedules, but everyone’s coming back,” he said.
Two fan favorites are noticeably absent from the confirmed cast list so far. Ken Jenkins (Dr. Kelso) and Neil Flynn (The Janitor) are not currently set to appear in the first season. However, Braff has not ruled out their return completely.
“The true answer is if we’re blessed to have a second season, absolutely. And the real answer for season 1 is we’re not fully sure yet. Episodes 8 and 9 of the nine-episode order are still being written. They both are interested in doing it,” Braff told Esquire in January 2026.
He added, “But do we have the bandwidth in the first nine to get to it all and service a story that would be worthy of Ken and Neil? That might come true. At this point, I can’t tell you the answer, but most definitely, if we are lucky enough to get a season 2, that’s something we want to do”.
New Faces Joining the Sacred Heart Team
The revival introduces a new class of interns who will learn from the original characters. The newcomers include Ana Bunn as Serena, Jacob Dudman as Asher, David Gridley as Blake, Layla Mohammadi as Amara, and Amanda Morrow as Dashana.
Vanessa Bayer, known for her years on Saturday Night Live, joins the cast as Sibby, a character who “runs a wellness program for faculty and staff at Sacred Heart Hospital”. Joel Kim Booster will play Dr. Eric Park, an attending physician at the hospital.
Behind the Scenes Details
Braff is not just starring in the revival. He also directed the pilot episode. The series has a nine-episode order for its first season, which Faison confirmed during a podcast episode. “I have nine episodes to with with and with my best friend, too. I have nine episodes with my best friend to try to tell a story. And I intend on doing that. And I’m really excited about it,” Faison said.
The writing team combines original Scrubs writers with fresh voices. Tim Hobert, who worked on the original series as a writer and executive producer, is serving as showrunner alongside Aseem Batra, who was a writer and story editor on the original show. Lawrence is executive producing but stepped back from daily showrunning duties because he is busy with other projects.
The Set That Brings Back Memories
The revival is filmed in Vancouver, not Los Angeles where the original show shot. The production team built an enormous replica of the original Sacred Heart Hospital on soundstages, measuring over 30,000 square feet.
Braff described walking onto the set for the first time. “It used to be the old hospital on Riverside and Whitsett, for those in L.A. that read this and know where that is, and literally, you’ll be in the set, and you’ll go, oh, that’s Riverside that way. The drop actually looks so real that looks out north in the Valley, it’s very, very, very surreal”.
Sarah Chalke shared similar feelings about returning to the familiar space. “It’s such a trip. And they actually got to do the old hospital, it’s identical, but make it better, because when we’re shooting the old hospital, you’re in a tight patient’s room or something, and you’re like, oh, wish we could fly that wall. And now they can, they can open up all the different sides. It was really cool, it was really surreal, actually, to walk onto the set for the first time, because obviously we spent all of our 20s there, and then to come back that many years later and have it be exactly the same, it was incredible”.
The Tone of the New Series
Despite Braff’s demand for more mature characters, fans should not worry about the show losing its signature humor. Braff confirmed during his podcast that “it will have the same tone and silliness you love”.
The cast proved during their first table read that the magic is still there. John C. McGinley described the experience of reading the script for executives. “It was as exciting as an off-off-Broadway opening night, the teleplay absolutely sparked in that room. People were cheering, that was very seductive and contagious, and it sparked us from there”.
Judy Reyes added, “When we all got the scripts we were like, ‘The script is good, it’s good,’ and then everything just clicks. The moment we start to speak, we laugh at each other and things that we thought we would laugh at, things that we didn’t laugh at when we read it”.
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Release Information for Global Audiences
The Scrubs revival premieres on February 25, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC in the United States. For viewers who prefer streaming, episodes will be available on Hulu the day after they air.
Viewers in the United Kingdom can catch the series on Disney+ or through local broadcasters that pick up the ABC programming. Canadian audiences will have access through CTV or the ABC affiliate channels. Australian viewers can expect the show on Disney+ or local networks like Channel 7 or Foxtel. Indian audiences will likely find the series on Disney+ Hotstar, given Disney’s distribution network. Release dates for international markets typically follow within days of the US premiere.
All nine seasons of the original Scrubs are currently available to stream on Hulu for anyone wanting to revisit the series before the revival begins.
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