Scrubs revival finally gets its future confirmed after returning from 16 years off screens

The quirky doctors of the Sacred Heart aren't clocking off yet as a second season of Disney's hit Scrubs revival is on the way, chronicling the later lives of original trio JD (Zach Braff), Elliot (Sarah Chalke) and Turk (Donald Faison).

Fans of the original series were relieved and delighted to find that this revival lives up to its legacy, by developing the returning characters in exciting new ways and setting up a slew of memorable new additions.

In addition to positive reviews, Scrubs season 10 also drew a sizeable crowd, with the premiere episode reaching 11 million viewers in North America alone, where the series also became ABC's top-ranked comedy of the year (among adults aged 18-49).

Scrubs lead actor, Braff, has made it known that, unlike Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair, this revival was always intended to run for multiple seasons – and the team has been busy putting together plans for what to do next.

For one thing, co-star John C McGinley told Deadline that fans could expect "a lot more" of him in season 2, following the poignant reveal that JD's mentor Dr Cox would become his patient moving forward.

Dr Cox was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease, named microscopic polyangiitis, which is incurable and requires expert care to treat – an enormous challenge in any case, but particularly between two people with such a storied history.

"[JD] needs a threat, he needs consequence," said McGinley. "There has to be jeopardy, and that jeopardy is Cox, however Billy [Lawrence, creator] writes it. I think Cox will be more thickly woven into the tapestry of season 2. I'm completely speculating."

Beyond Dr Cox, Braff has also assured fans that the Scrubs team have heard their demands for the original cast to have larger roles, telling TVLine that they're "working on" overcoming the hurdles involved.

For example, Sacred Heart head nurse and Turk's wife Carla could only appear in a handful of the new episodes, due to her pre-existing commitments to fellow Disney comedy High Potential (starring It's Always Sunny's Kaitlin Olson).

"We only had nine episodes and we had so much to do," Braff explained. "I know some people are like, 'Wait, I want more Johnny [C McGinley], I want more Neil [Flynn as The Janitor], I want more Judy [Reyes as Carla].' We get it, and we're working on it."

Original series creator and revival producer Bill Lawrence, also known for Ted Lasso and Shrinking, has previously committed to bringing back Ken Jenkins as fearsome veteran Dr Bob Kelso in the second chapter of the reboot, too.

"Dr Kelso will be back next year," he told Deadline in February. "It just didn’t work out this year but it will next year."

That particular returnee to the Scrubs cast would be quite momentous, given that the 85-year-old Jenkins was believed to have retired, having not taken a major role since 2018's A Series of Unfortunate Events season 2 on Netflix.

We'll bring you more updates on Scrubs season 2 (aka season 11) as they come in.

Scrubs is available to stream on Disney+. Sign-up to Disney+ from £5.99 a month.

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