Entertainment
‘Scrubs’ Stars Zach Braff, Donald Faison and Sarah Chalke Explain Why the Revival Needed “Resetting”
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for the premiere of Scrubs.]The 30-minute ABC revival series Scrubs sees Dr. John “J.D.” Dorian (Zach Braff) and Dr. Christopher Turk (Donald Faison) back at work together, their bromance as strong as ever. While certain aspects of life at Sacred Heart Hospital are the same, including familiar faces that will pop up throughout the season, changes in relationship dynamics make their bonds even more crucial. Trying to find a new normal with Dr. Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke) is uncharted waters for J.D., who’s trying to figure out the best way to mentor a new generation of interns while still caring about the patients, often stuck having to deal with the not-so-funny realities of healthcare.
During this interview with Collider, co-stars Braff, Faison and Chalke, who are clearly good friends in real life, discussed whether we’ll see that taxidermied golden retriever Rowdy make a return this season, what was most important in getting them to come back after wrapping the series more than 15 years ago, when the Scrubs comeback finally felt real, whether Braff has run into anyone in real life who has him tattooed on their body (like J.D. comes across in the season premiere), that Faison is not experiencing the same physical limitations that Turk is, the evolving dynamic between J.D. and Elliot, why Turk and Carla (Judy Reyes) are the cutest couple onTV, and how much fun they’re having working with the new cast members.
Will Rowdy, the Stuffed Dog, Make a Comeback on ‘Scrubs’?
“There’s a lot of mystery around Rowdy.”
Collider: I appreciate you talking to me about this. It’s so fun to watch you all back as these characters. When you guys found out the show was returning, Zach and Donald, how soon did you wonder whether you would see Rowdy again, as well as what happened to Rowdy? Was that the first question that you had?
DONALD FAISON: I miss Rowdy, and I miss Steven.
ZACH BRAFF: There’s a lot of mystery around Rowdy. This is a recreation of Rowdy. I’m giving you the exclusive because Rowdy is a bit injured. Your taxidermied golden retriever will only last so many years these days, even if you keep him in the Disney vault. Think of Raiders of the Lost Ark at the end. That’s where Rowdy is kept, in a crate at the back. But we have a new Rowdy, and he’s ready to go for as many years as needed.
Were there any other really important pressing questions that you guys had before agreeing to do this again?
BRAFF: It was just resetting the tone with (creator) Bill [Lawrence], having Bill be such a part of this. This was Bill’s idea. This is Bill’s vision. This was from a singular creator’s mind. So, I think it was just really making sure Bill, even though he couldn’t run the show day to day because of his other commitments, was a big part of coming up with what the tone was going to be. There was a big conversation about resetting it back to the reality that we really played in the early seasons, and what would the rules be of this revival.
FAISON: When everybody said they were coming back, that’s when it felt real. I think that was the most necessary thing to have, in some form, the OG cast back. And we’ve done that, for the most part.
Did you all know immediately that you were all on board, or was there one that nobody could get ahold of, for whatever reason, so you didn’t know what was going to happen?
FAISON: I dare that person to even admit if that did happen.
SARAH CHALKE: We all still hang out.
BRAFF: We’re all friends.
FAISON: That would be the craziest thing ever. “Listen, we’re gonna do it, but Johnny’s holding out, bro. Somebody’s got call Johnny.”
I just meant if someone was on vacation, out of reception. Not that one of you was holding out on the others.
BRAFF: It was a very long process to get this going, so it wasn’t an overnight thing.
CHALKE: Yeah, we talked about it for a couple of years leading up to it.
The medical comedy doesn’t hit with every joke, but the revival retains the heart of the original.
Zach, there’s a moment in the season premiere when a nurse asks J.D. to sign her tattoo of him. Have you ever come across someone that’s had you tattooed on their body?
BRAFF: Oh, yeah. A lot.
(Thinking he was kidding) What do you think your reaction would be, if you were ever faced with that personally?
BRAFF: No, it’s happened a bunch. In fact, I once ran into a gal in New Mexico who had a tattoo of me. And then, she said, “Will you sign it?,” and I signed it with Sharpie. And when she came back to the same coffee shop where I was, she had had my signature tattooed on her. And that person’s name was Sarah Chalke.
CHALKE: (Laughs) Would you like to see it?
BRAFF: There are crazy tattoos out there.
FAISON: There are tattoos that don’t even look like us, but they’re supposed to be us.
CHALKE: Tattoos of the two of you guys together?
FAISON and BRAFF: (Simultaneously) Yeah.
FAISON: There are a lot of Eagling tattoos.
BRAFF: You can Google them. Google Scrubs tattoo images. There are some crazy ones. We love it.
I will be doing that as soon as this interview is over. I love that J.D. and Turk’s onscreen reunion is a reminder of their friendship, but also of how many years have passed since we saw them. Are you guys realizing that there are at least some physical limitations to their friendship now?
FAISON: I think Turk and J.D. are realizing that. I want to put it out there that I am still a very fit young man. I might be 51, but your boy can still squat 250 and bench 120. I don’t know, whatever the heavyweight is, I’ve still got that.
BRAFF: Benching 120 is, I don’t think, a big brag.
FAISON: Can you do 185?
BRAFF: I don’t know. I haven’t looked. Donald wants the world to know that even though Turk can’t carry a 165-pound man, Donald Faison can.
FAISON: I am still fit.
Zach Braff and Sarah Chalke Are Having Fun Navigating the New ‘Scrubs’ Dynamic Between J.D. and Elliot
“I think it was a really good jumping off point.”
I will make note of that. Zach and Sarah, to get into spoilers, we learn from J.D. and Elliot that their marriage didn’t last and that they’re trying to navigate post-divorce life. How does their relationship affect and shape things for them this season? What was it like to explore this new relationship for them?
CHALKE: It was so fun, in their original one, to play that they’re together, they’re not, now they’re breaking up, now they’re getting married. We had so much fun doing it the first time around. So, I was really excited to hear that we were starting off divorced and not just happily married, because there’s not a lot of comedy and drama that comes out of them just being okay and fine and happy. I think it was a really good jumping off point. Even in this first nine episodes, we got to explore what that’s like for them to co-parent and work together. Do they try to start dating other people? It was a super fun dynamic to play around with, and I hope we get to do more of that.
Zach Braff Says the ‘Scrubs’ Reboot Will Feature a “Beaten-Down” J.D.
“It’s very, very hard to be a doctor today.”
Zach, how does J.D. feel about the status of their relationship?
BRAFF: Spoiler, but we learn that she was the one who ended it.
FAISON: Yep.
BRAFF: So, I think that we can infer that on-again, off-again bickering that was a part of their existence persisted through the marriage. Whereas J.D. still wanted to work on it and go to couples counseling and do stuff, eventually Elliot just pulled the ripcord and called it. I think J.D. understands but is dealing with it. They’re learning to co-parent. Now, they have to learn to work together. He has to learn what it’s like to see her flirting with a handsome doctor at the end of the hallway. It’s going to be tricky for them.
FAISON: I feel like it hurt him a lot, actually, when she called it, because he’s definitely doing some things around the hospital to make her life just a little bit more difficult.
BRAFF: There was a beat that was actually cut out of the pilot where you saw a flash of Elliot dropping off their son for the joint custody, for his turn, and she sees him through the window and she sees how sad he is, sitting there alone, and she really clocks it. And then, when he answers the door, he switches to a smile to act like he’s fine. It was very telling. We had to cut for time, but it was a very telling moment.
Donald Faison Believes ‘Scrubs’ Turk and Carla Are the Cutest Couple in TV History
“It’s important that Turk and Carla are together.”
Donald, I also love that we get to see Carla and Turk at home with their daughters. Are you hoping we’ll get to see more of that?
FAISON: That’s a great storyline. When Judy [Reyes] said she was coming back, because she’s on the number one television show in America, on broadcast television … I don’t know if you knew that, but she is.
CHALKE: High Potential.
FAISON: The fear, at first, was like, “Well, is Judy coming back?,” because there’s so much great story to tell about Turk and Carla. And when she said yes, she was, it just made it great. And then, when we went and had meetings with the writers, and they said we have four daughters, it made it even better because that’s just so much to play with. I think it’s important that Turk and Carla are together. They’re the cutest couple ever in the history of television. And so, because of that, they’re the best couple in the history of television.
BRAFF: What about Lucy and Desi?
FAISON: Yeah, you know, it’s cute, but it ain’t Turk and Carla.
BRAFF: Sam and Diane?
FAISON: Not even close. They didn’t last. You can even go Brady. We’ve got them beat. The only cuter couple on television is Turk and J.D. I think it’s important to show that love can last, and it should be seen on television. I think everybody should be able to see love at its finest, and that’s what you get with Turk and Carla.
‘Scrubs’ Reboot Adds a Broadway Star and a Comedy Legend to Star-Studded Cast [Exclusive]
The follow-up series is set to premiere early next year.
I already love Joel Kim Booster on the show and how much he’s already trying to stir up trouble for J.D., specifically. What will we continue to see from him? What do you guys love about what he’s bringing to the show? It must be scary to jump into something like this and figure out what to do.
BRAFF: Yeah. You have to figure out new antagonists for J.D., and Joel Kim Booster is doing a great job at that. He’s very funny. There are two lines that are in the pilot that he improvised. He brings a lot of improvisation and comedy. He’s just one of the people that are going to be pushing J.D.’s buttons. He’s after his job, and he wants to topple him.
FAISON: You bring up a great point: all the new people are fearless and so wonderful to work with. From the new interns to our guest stars, from Vanessa [Bayer] to Joel to Phill Lewis to Rob Maschio, it’s great to go to work and work with people that are committed to doing something that they’ve seen in the past and want to be a part of.
Because they don’t want to screw it up. They want to do it justice too.
BRAFF: But it is a lot of pressure. You’re right. They’ve got to come in and perform and hit the ground running. Vanessa Bayer is a perfect example. She came into a show with all these people who know each other, and right off the bat is having us belly laugh with every single thing she says. You’ve got to show up and hit the ground running.
CHALKE: The way she delivers a line of dialogue, you’ll read it in the script, and then she says it, and I could not get through one of the takes in one scene we did. She’s so funny. She does it different, every time. It’s so fun to work with her.
BRAFF: When we saw the gag reel with you not being able to get through it, it made me wish I’d put that version in the show because that’s not what’s in the show – her singing “Ave Maria.”
CHALKE: I was like, “Sarah, the crew all wants to go home. They have families. Think of terrible things.” And then, she would open her mouth and sing.
BRAFF: Sarah has these tricks to not laugh when she doesn’t ruin a take, and none of those tricks were working.
CHALKE: None of those tricks were working. Sometimes I have to ask our boss to come in and just glare at me and give me a stern look. And then, I’m like, “Okay, okay.” That didn’t even work.
- Release Date
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February 25, 2026
- Writers
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Aaron Lee, Amy Pocha, Aseem Batra, Mathew Harawitz, Michael Hobert, Seth Cohen, Tim Hobert
Cast
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Donald Faison
Christopher Turk
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Scrubs airs on ABC and is available to stream on Hulu.