‘Scrubs’ Revival Restores JD as the Eyes of the Audience

Now that Scrubs has announced that Season 9 essentially exists in a different timeline, the show’s revival is free to explore a more authentic continuation to its golden era. The rare few who actually enjoyed Med School can still watch those episodes, but they no longer have any direct impact on the main continuity. Instead of Sacred Heart being torn down and replaced with a more modern medical facility, the Scrubs revival will return to the original hospital that featured in Seasons 1-8.

Removing Season 9 from the Scrubs canon is the best decision the show could have made going into its new episodes. However, what’s even more exciting than stepping back into Sacred Heart is the premise that comes with the sitcom’s return after sixteen years. While Med School established some good things in the post-Season 8 lives of Zach Braff’s JD and his former colleagues, the revival isn’t honoring any of them. Instead, the new episodes will begin in a far less wholesome manner, but it’s better than it sounds.

The ‘Scrubs’ Revival’s Premise Explained

ABC

Of course, the time that Scrubs has spent off the air was never intended to be a hiatus, but that’s what it’s ended up being. While Season 9 understandably treated the Season 8 finale as something from the recent past, the revival will make the equally logical decision to treat the end of Season 8 as a distant memory. Rather than an instant reunion between JD and the rest of the core characters, which is what happened in Med School, the revival will be bringing everyone back together for the first time since Braff’s character stepped out the door of the original Sacred Heart hospital.

Speaking with Esquire, Braff confirmed that JD is “working as a concierge doctor,” and that his return to the hospital where he learned so much is only happening because “one of his patients has been admitted to Sacred Heart.” He went on to explain that the coming together of JD with Turk (Donald Faison), Elliot (Sarah Chalke), and the other characters still stationed at the hospital, is kind of a big deal. JD has drifted from his friends in the years since leaving to be a more present father to his son. While that sounds a little depressing considering how close they all were, this is Scrubs we’re talking about. So, it’ll almost definitely get a wholesome spin as the revival progresses.

‘Scrubs’ Rightfully Restores JD as the Main Character in the Revival

Zach Braff checking his watch as JD in the Scrubs revival as Donald Faison's Turk looks at him

Part of the reason why Scrubs faded out of existence was the departure of its leading man. While the show championed its incredible ensemble cast, the story was almost always viewed through JD’s eyes. Scrubs: Med School tried to replace JD with Kerry Bishé’s Lucy Bennett, but it just wasn’t the same without Braff leading the cast. The return of JD in a starring role rather than someone who was clearly headed for the exit in Season 9 means he’s back at the heart of the sitcom’s tried and tested formula.

Furthermore, JD is now the eyes of the audience again. Just as the viewers vicariously felt his nerves as he stepped into Sacred Heart in the 2001 pilot, fans will be witnessing the chaos going on inside that same building at exactly the same time as JD will be in the 2026 revival. In other words, JD and the audience are beginning the revival in exactly the same place, and returning to Sacred Heart for the first time in sixteen years carries far more weight for it being a reunion for both Scrubs‘ main character and the sitcom’s devoted fan base.