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Scrubs (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Scrubs is an American medical
comedy-drama
television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence
and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital
. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick
, and surreal vignettes
presented mostly as the daydream
s of the central character, Dr. John "J.D." Dorian, who is played by Zach Braff
. The ninth season saw the transition from Braff as the central character to Kerry Bishé
, who plays Lucy Bennett. The show's title is a play on surgical scrubs
and a term for a low-ranking person (at the beginning of the show, most of the main characters were medical intern
s, one of the lowest ranks in the medical hierarchy).
Alongside Braff, the first eight seasons of the show featured Sarah Chalke
, Donald Faison
, Neil Flynn
, Ken Jenkins
, John C. McGinley
and Judy Reyes
in starring roles. In the ninth season
, only Braff, Faison and McGinley were listed as regular cast members, while the rest, with the exception of Reyes, made guest appearances. Braff appeared in six episodes of the ninth season before departing. The ninth season also sees many new cast members introduced and shifts the show's setting from a hospital to a medical school. Kerry Bishé
, Eliza Coupe
, Dave Franco
and Michael Mosley became series regulars, with Bishé becoming the show's new narrator.
A complete script was written for each episode of Scrubs; however, actors are given opportunities to improvise their lines during the shooting process. The series has featured multiple guest appearances by film actors not generally seen on episodic television, such as Brendan Fraser
, Heather Graham
, and Colin Farrell
.
Scrubs premiered on October 2, 2001 on NBC
. It received a Peabody Award in 2006 for "fearlessly smashing traditional comic formulas, all the while respecting the deepest emotional and moral issues of its life-and-death setting." During the seventh season
, NBC announced that it would not renew the show. Shortly after the seventh season finale, ABC
announced that it had picked up the series for a new season and on January 6, 2009, the eighth season
of Scrubs premiered on ABC. The ninth season
, which premiered on December 1, 2009 on ABC, features several new cast members and is set at a new facility. On May 14, 2010, it was announced that Scrubs was officially canceled by ABC.
) for the first eight seasons, with season nine being narrated by the new main character Lucy Bennett. Most episodes feature multiple story lines thematically linked via voice-over
s done by Braff. According to Bill Lawrence
, "What we decided was, rather than have it be a monotone narration, if it's going to be Zach's voice, we're going to do everything through J.D.'s eyes. It opened up a visual medium that those of us as comedy writers were not used to." In every episode J.D. has many comical daydream
s as well as many "situation comedy" style lines, which are often a result of improvisation
. At the end of most episodes, J.D. summarizes the story's theme in a sequence of shots that show how it has affected each of the characters.
Almost every episode title for the first eight seasons begins with the first person singular possessive determiner, "My...". Bill Lawrence says this is because each episode is Dr. John Dorian writing in his diary (said on the commentary on the first season episode "My Hero
"). A few episodes are told from another character's perspective and have episode titles like "His Story" or "Her Story". Apart from a brief period of narration from J.D. at the beginning and the end, these episodes primarily contain internal narration from other characters besides J.D. The transfer of the narration duties usually occurs at a moment of physical contact between two characters. Starting with season nine, the episode titles start with "Our..." as the focus has shifted from the perspective of J.D. to a new group of medical students, with Lucy Bennett narrating. The webisodes that accompanied season eight, Scrubs: Interns
, also were named "Our...".
introduces J.D. and his best friend Turk in their first year out of medical school as interns at Sacred Heart Hospital. J.D. quickly meets his reluctant mentor, Dr. Perry Cox; an attractive young woman (and fellow intern) named Elliot, on whom J.D. quickly develops a crush; the hospital's janitor, who goes out of his way to make J.D.'s life miserable; the Chief of Medicine, Dr. Bob Kelso, who appears to be more concerned about the budget than the patients; and Carla Espinosa, the head nurse and soon Turk's new girlfriend, who puts Turk through the trials and tribulations of being in a serious relationship. The characters face romances and relationship issues, family obligations, overwhelming paperwork and a tremendous number of patients.
The second season
focuses on J.D.'s second year practicing medicine at Sacred Heart, where he is now a resident. As the season develops, J.D.'s older brother Dan (Tom Cavanagh
) comes to visit; money issues affect J.D., Elliot, and Turk; Turk proposes to Carla; and Elliot finds a new boyfriend, a nurse named Paul Flowers (Rick Schroder
). Dr. Cox resumes a sexual relationship with his ex-wife Jordan (Christa Miller
), with quite unexpected results.
As the third season
opens, Elliot decides to change her image, with some help from the Janitor. J.D.'s undeniable crush on Elliot emerges again, but J.D. instead begins a relationship with Jordan's sister Danni (Tara Reid
), who is also dealing with feelings for her ex. Turk and Carla are engaged and planning their wedding. Turk, along with the Todd and the other surgical residents, deal with new attending surgeon Dr. Grace Miller (Bellamy Young
), who dislikes Turk and considers him sexist. Dr. Cox and Jordan are doing well with their relationship and their son Jack, although Dr. Cox develops a schoolboy crush on Dr. Miller. He also struggles with the death of his best friend. Elliot gets into a serious relationship with Sean Kelly (Scott Foley
) and tries to maintain a long-distance relationship while he's in New Zealand for six months. J.D. eventually convinces Elliot to break up with Sean to date him, only to realize, once he has her, that he doesn't actually love her. Their relationship lasts three days. The season ends with Turk and Carla's wedding, which Turk misses due to surgery and a church mix-up.
In season four
, J.D. finishes his residency and becomes a full-blown colleague of Dr. Cox, although their dynamic does not change much. As the season opens, Turk arrives from his honeymoon with Carla, but they soon start having issues when Carla tries to change many things about her new husband. Their marriage and Turk's friendship with J.D. experience friction when J.D. and Carla share a drunken kiss. Dr. Cox and Jordan learn that their divorce was not final, but this isn't necessarily all good news. Elliot is still angry with J.D. for breaking her heart, and the situation becomes more uncomfortable still when she dates J.D.'s brother. J.D. has a new love interest of his own when a new and very attractive psychiatrist, Dr. Molly Clock (Heather Graham
), arrives at Sacred Heart. Molly also serves as Elliot's mentor during her time at the hospital.
Season five
starts with J.D. living in a hotel, sorting out apartment issues. Elliot has taken a new fellowship in another hospital. Turk and Carla are trying to have a baby, despite Turk still having doubts. Finally, some new interns have arrived to Sacred Heart, chief among them being Keith Dudemeister (Travis Schuldt
) who soon becomes Elliot's new boyfriend, much to J.D.'s dissatisfaction. J.D. is cast in the role of expecting father, discovering at the very end of the season that his girlfriend, Dr. Kim Briggs (Elizabeth Banks
), is pregnant with his child.
The sixth season
sees J.D. and the other characters mature to fill the different roles required of them. Turk and Carla become parents when Carla gives birth to their daughter Isabella. Elliot plans her wedding to Keith, although she and J.D. still harbor feelings for each other. Dr. Cox, as father of two children with Jordan, struggles to prevent his foul disposition from affecting his parenting.
In season seven
, J.D. and Elliot struggle once again to deny their feelings for each other, despite Elliot soon to be marrying Keith and J.D. to have his first son with Kim, whilst the Janitor may have a new girlfriend. Bob Kelso's job is also put on the line as he turns 65 years old. J.D.'s brother Dan also returns to town.
The eighth season
sees Dr. Kelso's replacement, Dr. Taylor Maddox (Courteney Cox
), arrive; she quickly makes a lot of changes, affecting the way doctors treat patients. Elliot and J.D. finally discuss their true feelings for each other and again become a couple. Janitor and Lady (Kit Pongetti
) marry, while Dr. Cox is promoted to chief of medicine to replace the dismissed Dr. Maddox. J.D. prepares to leave Sacred Heart to move closer to his son, along with Elliot. Turk is also promoted to chief of surgery at Sacred Heart.
Coinciding with season eight, Scrubs: Interns
was also launched, focusing around the eighth season's medical interns, Sonja "Sunny" Dey (Sonal Shah), Denise (Eliza Coupe
), Katie (Betsy Beutler), and Howie (Todd Bosley
). The interns learn from various characters of the show about life in the hospital.
The ninth season
takes place over a year after season eight's finale. The old Sacred Heart hospital has been torn down and rebuilt and Doctors Cox, Dorian and Turk are now Winston University medical school professors whose students occasionally rotate through the new Sacred Heart. Between the end of season eight and the beginning of season nine, the Janitor has left the hospital after being told that J.D. was not returning, and Elliot and J.D. have married and are expecting their first child. J.D.'s stay at the university is short and he leaves the series after several episodes.
at Brown Medical School
, which served as inspiration for college friend and show creator Bill Lawrence
.
Scrubs is produced by ABC, through its production division, even though it was aired by rival broadcaster NBC. According to show runner
Lawrence, the arrangement is unusual, at least for 2007: "The show is a dinosaur, on one network and completely owned by another" and, since it is now in syndication, making a "ton of money for Touchstone." Both he and Braff confirmed ABC would have broadcast the seventh season had NBC refused to do so.
has stated that having the X-ray backwards was intentional as it signified that the new interns were inexperienced. During Zach Braff's
audio commentary on "My Last Chance", he states that the error was actually unintentional. The error became somewhat infamous and was even parodied in "My Cabbage".
An attempt was made to fix the error in the extended title sequence that was used at the beginning of season 2 that included Neil Flynn
, but the extended sequence (including corrected X-ray) were soon scrapped at fan and network request. Finally, in "My Urologist", Dr. Kim Briggs steps into the credits and switches the X-ray around, saying, "That's backwards; it's been bugging me for years". At the beginning of season 8, when the series switched to ABC, the chest X-ray was once again backwards.
The ninth season features a new title sequence with a new version of the theme song "Superman." The new title sequences features the four new characters–Denise, Lucy, Drew and Cole, as well as Dr. Cox and Turk, while J.D. is seen at the end placing the chest X-ray. In all season 9 episodes that do not feature J.D., he is absent from the title sequence and Lucy is the one placing the X-ray. The X-ray at the end of the sequence is also not backwards and the subtitle Med School appears at the end of the sequence.
. He has written 14 episodes and directed 17. He is also the show runner and does many uncredited re-writes for episodes. Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan
co-wrote 13 episodes during their 8-year run on the show, starting as co-producers on the show and working their way up to executive producers; they left the show after the eighth season. Mike Schwartz
, who also played Lloyd the Delivery Guy, wrote 13 episodes during the first eight seasons; he started out as a story editor and became co-executive producer in season 6. Janae Bakken
and Debra Fordham were writers and producers during the first eight seasons, each writing 16 episodes. Other notable writers that started in the first season include Mark Stegemann, who wrote 14 episodes and directed 2 episodes during the first eight seasons; Gabrielle Allan, who wrote 11 episodes during the first four seasons and was co-executive producer; Eric Weinberg
, who wrote 11 episodes during the first six seasons and was co-executive producer; Matt Tarses, who wrote 8 episodes during the first four seasons and was co-executive producer. Notable writers that joined in the second season include Tim Hobert, who wrote 11 episodes from season 2 to 6, and became executive producer in season 5. Angela Nissel
wrote 10 episodes from season 2 to 8, starting out as a staff writer and became supervising producer in season 7. Bill Callahan
joined the show in season 4, writing 8 episodes from season 4 to 8, he became executive producer in season 6.
Adam Bernstein
, who directed the pilot episode, "My First Day
", also directed 11 episodes up until season 7. Michael Spiller
has directed the highest amount of episodes, directing 20 during the entire series run. Ken Whittingham
and Chris Koch both directed 12 episodes from season 2 to 9. Comedian Michael McDonald, who also appeared on the show, directed 5 episodes. Show star Zach Braff
directed 7 episodes of the show, including the landmark 100th episode "My Way Home
", which won a Peabody Award
in April 2007. In 2009 Josh Bycel
, a writer and supervising producer for the animated comedy American Dad!
, joined the crew as a new executive producer for the ninth season.
, Faison
, and Heather Graham
, respectively). In the season eight finale "My Finale
", the "real J.D.", Jonathan Doris, made a cameo appearance
as the doctor who said "adios" to J.D.
The first eight seasons of Scrubs were filmed on location at the North Hollywood Medical Center
, a real decommissioned (and in 2011, demolished) hospital located at 12629 Riverside Drive in North Hollywood, but the location of Sacred Heart Hospital within the fictional world of Scrubs is left ambiguous. Cast and crew on the show refer to the location as "San DiFrangeles"—a portmanteau of San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles
that is meant to encompass a large part of California. For the ninth season the show moved to Culver Studios
. The building used for the exteriors of the new Sacred Heart Hospital is located at the intersection of Ince Boulevard and Lindblade Street in Culver City, California (34.023988°N 118.391414°W).
went on strike
, which put the production of the show's seventh season on hold. When the strike started, only eleven of Scrubs eighteen planned seventh season episodes had been completely written. Lawrence refused to cross any WGA picket lines to serve any of his duties for the show, so ABC Studios had non-WGA members finish episode twelve, which the studio had unsuccessfully pressured Lawrence to rewrite as a series finale prior to the strike.
During the strike, NBC announced that The Office and Scrubs would be replaced by Celebrity Apprentice
. NBC later announced that they would leave Scrubs on hiatus for the time being and fill the 8–9 pm timeslot with various specials and repeats.
Episode 11, "My Princess
", was eventually filmed, although Lawrence was absent. Filming of episode 11 was disrupted by picketers. It was believed that Lawrence had tipped the picketers off about the filming schedule, although these beliefs turned out to be false as Lawrence quickly drove to the set to "keep the peace." After the strike ended, Lawrence announced that the final episodes of Scrubs would be produced although, at the time, he was unsure where or how they would be distributed.
reported that ABC was in talks with corporate sibling ABC Studios with the aim of bringing Scrubs to ABC for an eighth season of 18 episodes, despite both Lawrence's and Braff's protests that the seventh season would definitely be the last. Just hours later, Variety reported that NBC was lashing out and threatening legal action against ABC Studios. McGinley confirmed that he had been told to report back to work on March 24, 2008 to begin production for another season. On March 12, 2008, McGinley was also quoted as saying that the show's long-rumored move from NBC to ABC was a done deal, and that Scrubs would air on ABC during the 2008–09 TV season as a midseason replacement.
On March 19, 2008, Michael Ausiello
of TV Guide reported that although nothing was "official", the Scrubs cast was to report back to work the following Wednesday for work on a season "unofficial" as yet. Zach Braff posted in his blog on MySpace, on April 28, 2008, that an eighth season consisting of 18 episodes was under production but that he could not say where it will be aired. He then stated, on May 7, 2008, that the May 8 episode would be the final NBC-aired episode of Scrubs, which was followed by a bulletin on his MySpace, on May 12, confirming that Scrubss eighth season would be moving to ABC.
, airing Tuesday nights at 9:00 pm EST. Steve McPherson, ABC's President of Entertainment, also stated that additional seasons of Scrubs beyond the eighth could be produced if it performs well. In late November, ABC announced Scrubs would resume with back-to-back episodes on January 6, 2009 at 9:00 pm EST.
Creator Bill Lawrence stated in a video interview that season 8 will be more like the first few seasons in tone, with more of a focus on more realistic and dramatic storylines and the introduction of new characters. Courteney Cox
joined the cast as the new Chief of Medicine, Dr. Maddox, for a three-episode arc. The eighth season includes webisodes and is the first Scrubs season broadcast in high definition
.
Sarah Chalke
was hoping that J.D. and Elliot would end up back together, comparing them to Friends
characters Ross
and Rachel
, which has been addressed a few times on the show. In the early episodes of the season they did rekindle their relationship, and have continued dating through the end of the season. Several actors who guest starred as patients at Sacred Heart during the course of Scrubs returned for the finale.
The double-length season eight finale, "My Finale
", aired May 6, 2009, and was expected to be the series finale as well. However, it soon became clear that the show would return for a ninth season.
Bill Lawrence also stated that Scrubs as we know it is over, for the show to move forward with a new cast in an ER
type role on ABC, or take a new title completely. In response to criticisms that the change would tarnish Scrubs legacy, Lawrence defended the decision, as it would allow the Scrubs crew to continue work through a recession: "'Legacy shmegacy.' I'm really proud of the show, I'll continue to be proud of the show, but I love all of those people..."
On June 19, 2009, it was announced that the reformatted ninth season of Scrubs would "shift from the hospital to the classroom and make med-school professors of John C. McGinley's Dr. Cox and Donald Faison's Turk." According to Lawrence, the ninth season will "be a lot like Paper Chase
as a comedy", with Cox and Turk's students occasionally rotating through the halls of Sacred Heart and encountering former series regulars. McGinley and Faison were joined by "a quartet of newbies (most of them playing students)" as full-time regulars, while one of the freshmen "will be fairly famous".
The biggest change to the show for the ninth season is a major cast revamp. Of the seven actors who have appeared in the show since the pilot, only Donald Faison
and John C. McGinley
were set to retain their roles as regulars. Zach Braff
returned part-time and still received first star billing for the episodes he was present in. Sarah Chalke
returned for four episodes as a guest star; Although credited as a guest star, Ken Jenkins
appeared in the majority of the season, appearing in nine of the thirteen episodes; Neil Flynn
appeared in the season premiere in a brief cameo; and Judy Reyes
was absent the entire season, making her the only former star not to return to the show. Her character Carla is only mentioned occasionally and Turk is seen speaking with her by phone in the end of one episode. The new main cast included Eliza Coupe
returning to the recurring role of Denise "Jo" Mahoney from season eight, Dave Franco
as Cole, a charming, confidently stupid and incredibly entitled medical student whose family donated the money to build the school, Kerry Bishé
as Lucy, who shared the starring role with Braff in the beginning of the season and eventually became the show's new narrator, and Michael Mosley as Drew, a 30-year old med student on his last attempt at school.
Another major change is the setting of the show and where it is filmed. For the first eight seasons, the show was filmed at the North Hollywood Medical Center
but production for this season took place at Culver Studios. As a result, in the show, the existing Sacred Heart hospital was mentioned to have been torn down and re-built on the "Winston University" campus.
, Sarah Chalke
, Judy Reyes
, John C. McGinley
and Neil Flynn
reprised their roles as J.D., Elliot Reid
, Carla Espinosa
, Perry Cox and the Janitor
to make a cameo appearances in the 2003 Muppets
film It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
, trying to reanimate Miss Piggy
. Eventually, Piggy and the Scrubs cast break the fourth wall
, with the actors portraying themselves and Bill Lawrence
appearing as himself/the director of the current episode.
Sam Lloyd
reprised his role as Ted Buckland
in the season 2 finale
of the Lawrence series Cougar Town
. In the episode, written and directed by Lawrence, Ted is in Hawaii
and says his girlfriend, Stephanie Gooch, has run off with Dr. Hooch. Lloyd will to reprise his role once again in season 3. Scrubs regulars Zach Braff
, Ken Jenkins
(who have appeared before), Sarah Chalke
, Robert Maschio
, and Nicole Sullivan
will appear (as different characters) in the third season as well.
instead of multiple-camera setup
more typical for sitcoms. The season four episode "My Life in Four Cameras", has a brief multi-camera style, since it includes J.D.'s fantasies of life being more like a traditional sitcom.
John Inwood, the cinematographer of the series, shot the series with his own Aaton
XTR prod Super16 film camera. Despite the fact that some broadcasters, such as the BBC, consider Super16 a "non-HD" format, John Inwood believed that footage from his camera was not only sufficient to air in high definition, it "looked terrific."
Except for the finale of season 5, "My Transition", which was broadcast in high-definition
, the first seven seasons of the show have been broadcast in standard-definition
with 4:3 frame aspect ratio. After the show was moved from NBC to ABC, the broadcast format for new episodes changed to high-definition. John Inwood opined that older episodes could be re-released in HD as well. From the very beginning he filmed the show with widescreen delivery in mind so the whole series could be aired in high-definition when the market evolved.
All nine seasons have been released on DVD
in 4:3 format. However, the eighth season was also released on Blu-ray Disc
in original widescreen format.
artists are featured, and almost every episode ends with a musical montage summing up the themes and plot lines of the episode, and the music for these montages is often picked even before the episodes are completely written.
Members of the cast and crew are encouraged to contribute song suggestions, with many ideas coming from series creator Bill Lawrence, writer Neil Goldman
, and actors Zach Braff (whose college friends Cary Brothers
and Joshua Radin
appear on the Scrubs soundtrack) and Christa Miller Lawrence
(who selected Colin Hay
and Tammany Hall NYC
). According to Bill Lawrence
, "Christa picks so much of the music for the show that a lot of the writers and actors don't even go to me anymore when they have a song. They hand it to her."
In addition to music being featured as a soundtrack to the show, the cast themselves also sing on a frequent basis, such as in the episode "My Best Friend's Mistake" when the entire cast had the Erasure
song "A Little Respect
" stuck in their heads and would sing it repeatedly. Producers expanded Scrubs musical emphasis with a musical episode early in the sixth season, called "My Musical
". This episode aired on January 18, 2007.
, is titled "Superman
", and can be found on the album All the Time in the World, as well as on the first Scrubs soundtrack. Lawrence credits Braff for finding and suggesting "Superman" as the theme song.
The lyric "I'm no Superman" refers to the show's theme of its characters' fallibility.
The Scrubs main title is performed at a faster tempo than the original recording of the song. The original, slower recording was used briefly at the beginning of season 2, played during an extended version of the title sequence, as well as the opening for "My Urologist", and a special edit of the title sequence for resulting in roughly 1–2 seconds of music, followed by the line "I'm no Superman", accompanied by a quick flash of credits. The original intro from season 1 was used through most of season 3 and then used for seasons four through eight. Beginning with season nine, a new version of "Superman" is used which is performed by WAZ.
"; it was released on Amazon.com and iTunes on August 7, 2007.
, the former frontman of Men at Work
, has had music featured in at least seven episodes, and has appeared in the episode "My Overkill", performing the song "Overkill
" as a street musician, and in the episode "My Hard Labor
" performing "Down Under
". Hay also sings "Where Everybody Knows Your Name", the theme from Cheers
, in the episode "My Life in Four Cameras" and the episode "My Philosophy" features Hay's song "Waiting For My Real Life To Begin", sung by several members of the cast. He also appeared in "My Finale".
The music of Joshua Radin
, who is a friend of Scrubs star Zach Braff, appeared in six episodes.
Music by Keren DeBerg
has featured in 15 episodes, and she appeared in "My Musical
" as an extra in the song "All Right".
Clay Aiken
has appeared in the episode "My Life in Four Cameras" and performed the song "Isn't She Lovely?" by Stevie Wonder
.
" Director's Cut as "Foghat
") are an a cappella
group made up of Sacred Heart hospital employees from different departments. They are a cover band, and often sing songs from a specific genre (for example, cartoon theme songs or commercial jingles). They have appeared in several episodes.
The Worthless Peons are played by The Blanks
, who are a real-life a cappella
band made up of Sam Lloyd
(who plays Ted), George Miserlis, Paul F. Perry, and Philip McNiven. The Blanks' album, Riding the Wave
, features guest appearances from Lawrence
and members of the Scrubs cast. This band was put on the show when Sam Lloyd brought his a cappella band to the Scrubs cast Christmas party. Lloyd told Lawrence about his band, and Lawrence got the idea of putting them in the show.
The Worthless Peons also sing the theme song to the web series Scrubs: Interns
, which features the new interns from season eight learning about the hospital in the same way that J.D. did in season one. Interns is aired on the ABC website.
s website EW.com gave the overall series (the review was made early after the fifth season
premiere) a grade of "A-", with the author saying "Scrubs is the trickiest comedy on TV [...] A likable, daffy, buoyant series that would be a big annoying mess if it weren't done just right, Scrubs is the very definition of nimble". IGN
gave the first season a perfect score of 10. The seven following seasons was respectively rated 9, 9, 9, 8, 7.5, 8.3 and 7.5.
Common Sense Media
, who mainly rates series in terms of violence, sex, and profanity, gave Scrubs a positive review and awarded it 4 out of 5 stars despite having rated both "Sex", "Language" and "Drinking, drugs, & smoking" 3 out of 5, stating "this show can be screamingly funny but is very adult-oriented". The Truth About Nursing, who checks the realism of the medical series, gave Scrubs a "Nursing rating" of 1.5 out of 4 stars, but an "Artistic rating" of 3 out of 4 stars, praising that "despite the nasty and surreal elements, its characters are not above learning or growing, as they try to cope with the very real stresses of life and death at the hospital". However the reviewer stated "The show's portrayal of nursing has been less impressive".
Review aggregate Metacritic
only assigned an average score to the eighth
and ninth seasons
, with the eighth season scored 79/100, based on four reviews only (all positives), indicating "Generally favorable reviews". On other review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes
, despite not having any score because of a too few number of reviews, every season (except the ninth, which is not listed) have unanimously good reviews.
received mixed to positive reviews, with many critics heavily criticizing the new cast; it received a score of 64/100 on Metacritic
, indicating "Generally favorable reviews". IGN
gave it a positive score of 7 out of 10, stating "even though this was not the best season, I'll always have fond memories of the show".
USA Today
reviewer Robert Bianco
wrote a negative review, stating "The result is a deadly, deal-driven mistake that takes a network that has made great sitcom strides forward one unfortunate step back". He also notices that the presences of a few members of the original cast (Zach Braff
, Donald Faison
and John C. McGinley
) "only makes it harder for the new characters to take hold" (despite he also heavily criticized Braff's performance). Blogcritics
gave it a mixed review, criticizing the new cast, but praising the performances by the original cast members.
nominations, in categories such as casting, cinematography, directing, editing, and writing. Its fourth season earned the series its first nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series. Zach Braff
was also nominated that year for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. The series was nominated again the following year for Outstanding Comedy Series. At the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards
, the episode "My Musical
" was nominated for five awards in four categories: Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (Will Mackenzie), Outstanding Music Direction (Jan Stevens) and Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics ("Everything Comes Down to Poo" and "Guy Love"); while sharing the award for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) And Animation (Joe Foglia, Peter J. Nusbaum, and John W. Cook II) with Entourage
.
Braff was nominated for the Golden Globe
award for Best Actor in a Television Series, Comedy or Musical in 2005, 2006 and 2007, but lost to Jason Bateman
of Arrested Development in 2005, to Steve Carell
of The Office in 2006, and to Alec Baldwin
of 30 Rock
in 2007.
The show won the 2002, 2008, and 2009 Humanitas Prize
, an award created for rewarding human dignity, meaning, and freedom. It also won the prestigious Peabody Award
.
The highest rated episode of Scrubs was the season 2 premiere "My Overkill" which aired on September 26, 2002, and received 22.31 million viewers.
Medical drama
A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the...
comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence
Bill Lawrence (producer)
William Van Duzer Lawrence IV is an American screenwriter, producer, and director best known as the creator of Scrubs and co-creator of Cougar Town. Lawrence is married to the actress Christa Miller whom he cast in both television series; they have three children together...
and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital
Teaching hospital
A teaching hospital is a hospital that provides clinical education and training to future and current doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, in addition to delivering medical care to patients...
. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
, and surreal vignettes
Vignette (literature)
In theatrical script writing, sketch stories, and poetry, a vignette is a short impressionistic scene that focuses on one moment or gives a trenchant impression about a character, an idea, or a setting and sometimes an object...
presented mostly as the daydream
Daydream
A daydream is a visionary fantasy, especially one of happy, pleasant thoughts, hopes or ambitions, imagined as coming to pass, and experienced while awake. There are many types of daydreams, and there is no consistent definition amongst psychologists. The general public also uses the term for a...
s of the central character, Dr. John "J.D." Dorian, who is played by Zach Braff
Zach Braff
Zachary Israel "Zach" Braff is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, comedian, and director. Braff first became known in 2001 for his role as Dr. John Dorian on the television series Scrubs, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards.In 2004, Braff made his...
. The ninth season saw the transition from Braff as the central character to Kerry Bishé
Kerry Bishé
Kerry Bishé , is an American actress, best known for playing Lucy Bennett, the main character in season nine of medical comedy Scrubs...
, who plays Lucy Bennett. The show's title is a play on surgical scrubs
Scrubs (clothing)
Scrubs are the shirts and trousers or gowns worn by nurses , surgeons, and other operating room personnel when "scrubbing in" for surgery. In the United Kingdom, they are sometimes known as Theatre Blues. They are designed to be simple with minimal places for dirt to hide, easy to launder, and...
and a term for a low-ranking person (at the beginning of the show, most of the main characters were medical intern
Medical intern
A medical intern is a term used in the United States for a physician in training who has completed medical school. An intern has a medical degree, but does not have a full license to practice medicine unsupervised...
s, one of the lowest ranks in the medical hierarchy).
Alongside Braff, the first eight seasons of the show featured Sarah Chalke
Sarah Chalke
Sarah Chalke is a Canadian-American actress known for portraying Dr. Elliot Reid on the NBC/ABC comedy Scrubs, "Second Becky" Conner Healy on Roseanne, and Stella Zinman in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother...
, Donald Faison
Donald Faison
Donald Adeosun Faison is an American actor, comedian, and voice actor best known for his role as Dr. Chris Turk in the ABC comedy-drama Scrubs and as Murray in the film Clueless and the subsequent television series of the same name.Faison has also co-starred in the films Remember the Titans ,...
, Neil Flynn
Neil Flynn
Neil Richard Flynn is an American actor and comedian, known for his role as Janitor in the medical comedy-drama Scrubs. He currently portrays Mike Heck in the ABC sitcom The Middle.-Early life:...
, Ken Jenkins
Ken Jenkins
Ken Jenkins is an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Bob Kelso, the Chief of Medicine on the American comedy Scrubs....
, John C. McGinley
John C. McGinley
John Christopher McGinley is an American actor, most notable for his roles as Perry Cox in Scrubs, Bob Slydell in Office Space, Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's Platoon and Marv in Stone's Wall Street. He has also written and produced for television and film...
and Judy Reyes
Judy Reyes
Judy Reyes is an American actress of Dominican heritage. She is best known for her portrayal of nurse Carla Espinosa on the TV comedy Scrubs.-Early life:...
in starring roles. In the ninth season
Scrubs (season 9)
The ninth and final season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on ABC on December 1, 2009 and concluded on March 17, 2010 and consists of 13 episodes...
, only Braff, Faison and McGinley were listed as regular cast members, while the rest, with the exception of Reyes, made guest appearances. Braff appeared in six episodes of the ninth season before departing. The ninth season also sees many new cast members introduced and shifts the show's setting from a hospital to a medical school. Kerry Bishé
Kerry Bishé
Kerry Bishé , is an American actress, best known for playing Lucy Bennett, the main character in season nine of medical comedy Scrubs...
, Eliza Coupe
Eliza Coupe
Eliza Coupe is an American actress best known for her role as Denise "Jo" Mahoney in the medical comedy Scrubs, in which she became a regular for the ninth season. Coupe currently stars as Jane Williams in the ABC comedy series Happy Endings.-Career:Coupe grew up in New Hampshire and graduated...
, Dave Franco
Dave Franco
David John "Dave" Franco is an American television and film actor who played the role of Cole Aaronson for season nine of Scrubs.-Personal life:...
and Michael Mosley became series regulars, with Bishé becoming the show's new narrator.
A complete script was written for each episode of Scrubs; however, actors are given opportunities to improvise their lines during the shooting process. The series has featured multiple guest appearances by film actors not generally seen on episodic television, such as Brendan Fraser
Brendan Fraser
Brendan James Fraser is a Canadian-American film and stage actor. Fraser portrayed Rick O'Connell in the three-part Mummy film series , and is known for his comedic and fantasy film leading roles in major Hollywood films, including Encino Man , George of the Jungle , Dudley Do-Right , Monkeybone ,...
, Heather Graham
Heather Graham
Heather Joan Graham is an American actress. She has appeared in such films as Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Lost in Space, Bowfinger, From Hell, Anger Management, and The Hangover...
, and Colin Farrell
Colin Farrell
Colin James Farrell is an Irish actor, who has appeared in such film as Tigerland, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, The Recruit, Alexander and S.W.A.T....
.
Scrubs premiered on October 2, 2001 on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. It received a Peabody Award in 2006 for "fearlessly smashing traditional comic formulas, all the while respecting the deepest emotional and moral issues of its life-and-death setting." During the seventh season
Scrubs (season 7)
The seventh season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on NBC on October 25, 2007 and concluded on May 8, 2008 and consists of 11 episodes. This was the final season to air on NBC after it was picked up by ABC....
, NBC announced that it would not renew the show. Shortly after the seventh season finale, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
announced that it had picked up the series for a new season and on January 6, 2009, the eighth season
Scrubs (season 8)
The eighth season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on ABC on January 6, 2009 and concluded on May 6, 2009 and consists of 18 episodes. The eighth season was the first to be shown on ABC after NBC dropped the series, ending its seven-year run on the network...
of Scrubs premiered on ABC. The ninth season
Scrubs (season 9)
The ninth and final season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on ABC on December 1, 2009 and concluded on March 17, 2010 and consists of 13 episodes...
, which premiered on December 1, 2009 on ABC, features several new cast members and is set at a new facility. On May 14, 2010, it was announced that Scrubs was officially canceled by ABC.
Overview
Scrubs focuses on the unique point of view of its main character and narrator, Dr. John Michael "J.D." Dorian (Zach BraffZach Braff
Zachary Israel "Zach" Braff is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, comedian, and director. Braff first became known in 2001 for his role as Dr. John Dorian on the television series Scrubs, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards.In 2004, Braff made his...
) for the first eight seasons, with season nine being narrated by the new main character Lucy Bennett. Most episodes feature multiple story lines thematically linked via voice-over
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
s done by Braff. According to Bill Lawrence
Bill Lawrence (producer)
William Van Duzer Lawrence IV is an American screenwriter, producer, and director best known as the creator of Scrubs and co-creator of Cougar Town. Lawrence is married to the actress Christa Miller whom he cast in both television series; they have three children together...
, "What we decided was, rather than have it be a monotone narration, if it's going to be Zach's voice, we're going to do everything through J.D.'s eyes. It opened up a visual medium that those of us as comedy writers were not used to." In every episode J.D. has many comical daydream
Daydream
A daydream is a visionary fantasy, especially one of happy, pleasant thoughts, hopes or ambitions, imagined as coming to pass, and experienced while awake. There are many types of daydreams, and there is no consistent definition amongst psychologists. The general public also uses the term for a...
s as well as many "situation comedy" style lines, which are often a result of improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
. At the end of most episodes, J.D. summarizes the story's theme in a sequence of shots that show how it has affected each of the characters.
Almost every episode title for the first eight seasons begins with the first person singular possessive determiner, "My...". Bill Lawrence says this is because each episode is Dr. John Dorian writing in his diary (said on the commentary on the first season episode "My Hero
My Hero (Scrubs)
"My Hero" is the 23rd episode of the American sitcom Scrubs. It originally aired on May 14, 2002 on NBC.-Synopsis:Ben takes his leukemia diagnosis pretty well, much better than Jordan and J.D. Dr. Cox tells Ben, Jordan and J.D. that they can beat the cancer, earning J.D.'s hero worship. Later, Dr...
"). A few episodes are told from another character's perspective and have episode titles like "His Story" or "Her Story". Apart from a brief period of narration from J.D. at the beginning and the end, these episodes primarily contain internal narration from other characters besides J.D. The transfer of the narration duties usually occurs at a moment of physical contact between two characters. Starting with season nine, the episode titles start with "Our..." as the focus has shifted from the perspective of J.D. to a new group of medical students, with Lucy Bennett narrating. The webisodes that accompanied season eight, Scrubs: Interns
Scrubs: Interns
Scrubs: Interns is a webisode series from ABC based on the comedy-drama series Scrubs in its eighth season, which originally aired premiered on ABC.com, the day of a new Scrubs episode aired...
, also were named "Our...".
Cast and characters
For the first eight seasons, the series featured seven main cast members, with numerous other characters recurring throughout the course of the series. Starting with the ninth season, much of the original cast left as regular characters, while four new additions were made to the cast.- Zach BraffZach BraffZachary Israel "Zach" Braff is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, comedian, and director. Braff first became known in 2001 for his role as Dr. John Dorian on the television series Scrubs, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards.In 2004, Braff made his...
portrays John Michael "J.D." Dorian (seasons 1–9), the show's protagonist and narrator. J.D. is a young attending physicianAttending physicianIn the United States, an attending physician is a physician who has completed residency and practices medicine in a clinic or hospital, in the specialty learned during residency. An attending physician can supervise fellows, residents, and medical students...
, who begins the series as a staff intern. His voice-over to the series comes from his internal thoughts and often features surreal fantasies. - Sarah ChalkeSarah ChalkeSarah Chalke is a Canadian-American actress known for portraying Dr. Elliot Reid on the NBC/ABC comedy Scrubs, "Second Becky" Conner Healy on Roseanne, and Stella Zinman in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother...
portrays Elliot ReidElliot ReidDr. Elliot Reid is a fictional character played by Sarah Chalke in the American comedy-drama Scrubs. She has appeared in every episode during the first eight seasons except two Season 8 episodes, "My Last Words" and "My Lawyer's in Love"....
(seasons 1–8, recurring season 9), another intern and later private practice physician. Her relationship with J.D. becomes romantic on several occasions throughout the series. As the series progresses, despite an initial dislike of each other, she and Carla become good, close friends. Elliot is driven by a neurotic desire to prove her abilities to her family (in which all of the males are doctorsPhysicianA physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
), her peers, and herself. - Donald FaisonDonald FaisonDonald Adeosun Faison is an American actor, comedian, and voice actor best known for his role as Dr. Chris Turk in the ABC comedy-drama Scrubs and as Murray in the film Clueless and the subsequent television series of the same name.Faison has also co-starred in the films Remember the Titans ,...
portrays Christopher TurkChristopher TurkChristopher Duncan Turk, M.D., is a fictional character played by Donald Faison on the American comedy-drama Scrubs. Turk has appeared in every episode except three Season 8 episodes, "My Saving Grace", "My New Role" and "My Lawyer's in Love". Donald Faison is the only original cast member,...
(seasons 1–9), J.D.'s best friend and surgeon, who rises to Chief of Surgery as the series progresses. Turk and J.D. were roommates when they attended the College of William and MaryCollege of William and MaryThe College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
as well as in medical school, and the two have an extremely close relationship often called "guy love". During the course of the series Turk forms a relationship with Carla; they start dating early in the series, later getting married, and starting a family together. - Neil FlynnNeil FlynnNeil Richard Flynn is an American actor and comedian, known for his role as Janitor in the medical comedy-drama Scrubs. He currently portrays Mike Heck in the ABC sitcom The Middle.-Early life:...
portrays the "JanitorJanitor (Scrubs)The Janitor is a fictional character, played by actor Neil Flynn in the American comedy-drama Scrubs.Neil Flynn was originally billed as a recurring guest star throughout Season 1, although he appeared in all 24 episodes of that season. He was promoted to a series regular beginning with Season 2...
" (seasons 1–8, guest star season 9), the hospital's custodianJanitorA janitor or custodian is a professional who takes care of buildings, such as hospitals and schools. Janitors are responsible primarily for cleaning, and often some maintenance and security...
. An incident in the pilot episodeMy First Day"My First Day" is the pilot episode of the American comedy-drama Scrubs. It originally aired on October 2, 2001 on NBC. The episode was written by series creator Bill Lawrence and directed by Adam Bernstein....
establishes an adversarial relationship between him and J.D., which persists throughout the series. This tends to take the form of the Janitor pulling mean-spirited pranks on J.D., although he has shown, several times throughout the series, that he has a good side. In the season eight finale, "'the Janitor"' admits his name to J.D. as "Glenn Matthews". However, shortly after he acknowledges another member of hospital staff, who calls him by a different name, making it unclear whether or not "Glenn Matthews" really is his name. It was later confirmed in a Facebook video by creator Bill Lawrence that his name is Glenn Matthews. - Ken JenkinsKen JenkinsKen Jenkins is an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Bob Kelso, the Chief of Medicine on the American comedy Scrubs....
portrays Bob KelsoBob KelsoRobert "Bob" Kelso, M.D. , is a fictional character played by Ken Jenkins in the American comedy-drama Scrubs....
(seasons 1–8, recurring season 9), who used to be Sacred Heart's Chief of MedicineInternal medicineInternal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...
. Kelso is cold, heartless and cruel, driven primarily by the hospital's bottom line rather than the well-being of patients. It is occasionally suggested that he has a softer side, and that his cruelty is a means of copingCoping (psychology)Coping has been defined in psychological terms by Susan Folkman and Richard Lazarus as "constantly changing cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage specific external and/or internal demands that are appraised as taxing" or "exceeding the resources of the person".Coping is thus expending...
with the years of hard decisions. He has been forced to make hard decisions from the beginning, stating that when he became Chief of Medicine, he thought he'd be "the man". Instead he very quickly realized that the harsh decisions made him unpopular, but he had to continue his "evil" facade to keep the hospital running smoothly. He retired in season 7, after which his relationship with staff at the hospital improves. He is unhappily married and embarrassed by his homosexual son's activities. After retiring, he just sits around the hospital using his 'free muffins for life' to stuff his face, avoid his wife, and talk to old colleagues. In season 9, Kelso becomes a teacher at Winston University along with J.D., Dr. Cox, and Turk. - John C. McGinleyJohn C. McGinleyJohn Christopher McGinley is an American actor, most notable for his roles as Perry Cox in Scrubs, Bob Slydell in Office Space, Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's Platoon and Marv in Stone's Wall Street. He has also written and produced for television and film...
portrays Perry Cox (seasons 1–9), who becomes the new Chief of Medicine at Sacred Heart in season 8. J.D. considers Cox his mentorMentorIn Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
despite the fact that Cox routinely criticizes him, belittles him, and calls him random female names. Cox frequently suggests that this harsh treatment is intended as conditioning for the rigors of hospital life. On rare occasions, he expresses grudging approval and even pride at J.D.'s accomplishments. Dr. Cox is dedicated to the welfare of his patients, leading to frequent clashes with Bob Kelso. - Judy ReyesJudy ReyesJudy Reyes is an American actress of Dominican heritage. She is best known for her portrayal of nurse Carla Espinosa on the TV comedy Scrubs.-Early life:...
portrays Carla EspinosaCarla EspinosaCarla Espinosa, RN is a fictional character in the American comedy-drama Scrubs, portrayed by Judy Reyes.Carla has appeared in every episode during the first eight seasons except three Season 8 episodes, "My Happy Place", "My Cookie Pants" and "My Full Moon"...
(seasons 1–8), the hospital's head nurse, who acts like a mother figure to interns, often hiding their mistakes from their attending doctor. During the course of the series Turk forms a relationship with Carla; they start dating early in the series, later getting married, and starting a family together. She is very close to J.D., affectionately calling him "Bambi", and despite initially disliking each other, she and Elliot also become close friends. - Eliza CoupeEliza CoupeEliza Coupe is an American actress best known for her role as Denise "Jo" Mahoney in the medical comedy Scrubs, in which she became a regular for the ninth season. Coupe currently stars as Jane Williams in the ABC comedy series Happy Endings.-Career:Coupe grew up in New Hampshire and graduated...
portrays Denise Mahoney (recurring season 8, regular season 9), an intern at Sacred Heart Hospital in season 8. In season 9, she is a Resident at the new Sacred Heart Hospital as well as a student advisor and teacher's assistant at Winston University. - Kerry BishéKerry BishéKerry Bishé , is an American actress, best known for playing Lucy Bennett, the main character in season nine of medical comedy Scrubs...
portrays Lucy Bennett (season 9), who is a medical student at Winston University and the show's new narrator. - Michael Mosley portrays Drew Suffin (season 9), who is a medical student at Winston University giving it a second go after some wrong turns in his personal life.
- Dave FrancoDave FrancoDavid John "Dave" Franco is an American television and film actor who played the role of Cole Aaronson for season nine of Scrubs.-Personal life:...
portrays Cole Aaronson (season 9), who is a medical student at Winston University. His family donated a large amount of money to get the new Sacred Heart Hospital built and as such, believes that he can do whatever he wants and is untouchable.
Season synopses
The first seasonScrubs (season 1)
The first season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on NBC on October 2, 2001 and concluded on May 21, 2002 and consists of 24 episodes. Scrubs was created by Bill Lawrence who wrote the pilot as well as 3 other episodes in the season. Adam Bernstein directed the pilot...
introduces J.D. and his best friend Turk in their first year out of medical school as interns at Sacred Heart Hospital. J.D. quickly meets his reluctant mentor, Dr. Perry Cox; an attractive young woman (and fellow intern) named Elliot, on whom J.D. quickly develops a crush; the hospital's janitor, who goes out of his way to make J.D.'s life miserable; the Chief of Medicine, Dr. Bob Kelso, who appears to be more concerned about the budget than the patients; and Carla Espinosa, the head nurse and soon Turk's new girlfriend, who puts Turk through the trials and tribulations of being in a serious relationship. The characters face romances and relationship issues, family obligations, overwhelming paperwork and a tremendous number of patients.
The second season
Scrubs (season 2)
The second season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on NBC on September 26, 2002 and concluded on April 17, 2003 and consists of 22 episodes. For the second season Neil Flynn was made a series regular. Colin Hay guest starred for the first time...
focuses on J.D.'s second year practicing medicine at Sacred Heart, where he is now a resident. As the season develops, J.D.'s older brother Dan (Tom Cavanagh
Tom Cavanagh
Thomas "Tom" Cavanagh is a Canadian actor.-Early life:Cavanagh was born in Ottawa, Ontario. He is of Irish descent and was raised in a large Roman Catholic family. Cavanagh moved with his family to Winneba, a small city in Ghana, when he was seven years old. In his teens, the family moved to...
) comes to visit; money issues affect J.D., Elliot, and Turk; Turk proposes to Carla; and Elliot finds a new boyfriend, a nurse named Paul Flowers (Rick Schroder
Rick Schroder
Richard Bartlett "Rick" Schroder, Jr. is an American actor and film director.He debuted in the 1979 hit film The Champ, going on to become a child star on the sitcom Silver Spoons...
). Dr. Cox resumes a sexual relationship with his ex-wife Jordan (Christa Miller
Christa Miller
Christa Miller is an American actress who has achieved success in television comedy. Her foremost roles include Kate O'Brien on The Drew Carey Show and Jordan Sullivan on Scrubs . She has also appeared on Seinfeld and CSI: Miami...
), with quite unexpected results.
As the third season
Scrubs (season 3)
The third season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on NBC on October 2, 2003 and concluded on May 4, 2004 and consists of 22 episodes. This season features many fantasies as well as features many well known actors in guest roles such as Scott Foley, Michael J...
opens, Elliot decides to change her image, with some help from the Janitor. J.D.'s undeniable crush on Elliot emerges again, but J.D. instead begins a relationship with Jordan's sister Danni (Tara Reid
Tara Reid
Tara Donna Reid is an American actress. Reid has acted on television shows such as Saved By The Bell: The New Class, Days of our Lives, California Dreams, and Scrubs....
), who is also dealing with feelings for her ex. Turk and Carla are engaged and planning their wedding. Turk, along with the Todd and the other surgical residents, deal with new attending surgeon Dr. Grace Miller (Bellamy Young
Bellamy Young
Bellamy Young is an American television, motion picture, and theatre actress.Born Amy Young in Asheville, North Carolina, Young graduated from Yale University in 1991...
), who dislikes Turk and considers him sexist. Dr. Cox and Jordan are doing well with their relationship and their son Jack, although Dr. Cox develops a schoolboy crush on Dr. Miller. He also struggles with the death of his best friend. Elliot gets into a serious relationship with Sean Kelly (Scott Foley
Scott Foley
Scott Kellerman Foley is an American actor. He is known for roles in television shows such as The Unit and Felicity, and in films such as Scream 3...
) and tries to maintain a long-distance relationship while he's in New Zealand for six months. J.D. eventually convinces Elliot to break up with Sean to date him, only to realize, once he has her, that he doesn't actually love her. Their relationship lasts three days. The season ends with Turk and Carla's wedding, which Turk misses due to surgery and a church mix-up.
In season four
Scrubs (season 4)
The fourth season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on NBC on August 31, 2004 and concluded on May 10, 2005 and consists of 25 episodes. Heather Graham guest starred for an extended run for the first 8 episodes, and then another appearance later in the season...
, J.D. finishes his residency and becomes a full-blown colleague of Dr. Cox, although their dynamic does not change much. As the season opens, Turk arrives from his honeymoon with Carla, but they soon start having issues when Carla tries to change many things about her new husband. Their marriage and Turk's friendship with J.D. experience friction when J.D. and Carla share a drunken kiss. Dr. Cox and Jordan learn that their divorce was not final, but this isn't necessarily all good news. Elliot is still angry with J.D. for breaking her heart, and the situation becomes more uncomfortable still when she dates J.D.'s brother. J.D. has a new love interest of his own when a new and very attractive psychiatrist, Dr. Molly Clock (Heather Graham
Heather Graham
Heather Joan Graham is an American actress. She has appeared in such films as Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Lost in Space, Bowfinger, From Hell, Anger Management, and The Hangover...
), arrives at Sacred Heart. Molly also serves as Elliot's mentor during her time at the hospital.
Season five
Scrubs (season 5)
The fifth season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on NBC on January 3, 2006 and concluded on May 16, 2006 and consists of 24 episodes. For the first twelve episodes, two new episodes were broadcast back-to-back every Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. ET. Then NBC returned to...
starts with J.D. living in a hotel, sorting out apartment issues. Elliot has taken a new fellowship in another hospital. Turk and Carla are trying to have a baby, despite Turk still having doubts. Finally, some new interns have arrived to Sacred Heart, chief among them being Keith Dudemeister (Travis Schuldt
Travis Schuldt
Travis Schuldt is an American actor. He originated the role of Ethan Winthrop on the NBC soap opera Passions from 1999 to 2002, and played a recurring role of Keith Dudemeister in the sitcom Scrubs from 2006-2008.-Career:...
) who soon becomes Elliot's new boyfriend, much to J.D.'s dissatisfaction. J.D. is cast in the role of expecting father, discovering at the very end of the season that his girlfriend, Dr. Kim Briggs (Elizabeth Banks
Elizabeth Banks
Elizabeth Maresal Mitchell , known professionally as Elizabeth Banks, is an American actress. Banks had her film debut in the low-budget independent film Surrender Dorothy...
), is pregnant with his child.
The sixth season
Scrubs (season 6)
The sixth season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on NBC on November 30, 2006 and concluded on May 17, 2007 and consists of 22 episodes. The series moved to Thursdays at 9:00 pm as a part of NBC's Comedy Night Done Right. Guest stars in the sixth season included Keri...
sees J.D. and the other characters mature to fill the different roles required of them. Turk and Carla become parents when Carla gives birth to their daughter Isabella. Elliot plans her wedding to Keith, although she and J.D. still harbor feelings for each other. Dr. Cox, as father of two children with Jordan, struggles to prevent his foul disposition from affecting his parenting.
In season seven
Scrubs (season 7)
The seventh season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on NBC on October 25, 2007 and concluded on May 8, 2008 and consists of 11 episodes. This was the final season to air on NBC after it was picked up by ABC....
, J.D. and Elliot struggle once again to deny their feelings for each other, despite Elliot soon to be marrying Keith and J.D. to have his first son with Kim, whilst the Janitor may have a new girlfriend. Bob Kelso's job is also put on the line as he turns 65 years old. J.D.'s brother Dan also returns to town.
The eighth season
Scrubs (season 8)
The eighth season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on ABC on January 6, 2009 and concluded on May 6, 2009 and consists of 18 episodes. The eighth season was the first to be shown on ABC after NBC dropped the series, ending its seven-year run on the network...
sees Dr. Kelso's replacement, Dr. Taylor Maddox (Courteney Cox
Courteney Cox
Courteney Bass Cox is an American actress, she is best known for her roles as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, Gale Weathers in the horror series Scream and as Jules Cobb in the ABC sitcom Cougar Town, for which she earned her first Golden Globe nomination....
), arrive; she quickly makes a lot of changes, affecting the way doctors treat patients. Elliot and J.D. finally discuss their true feelings for each other and again become a couple. Janitor and Lady (Kit Pongetti
Kit Pongetti
Kit Pongetti is an American actress, singer and writer, known for several acting roles, including playing Lady, the wife of the Janitor, in the show Scrubs.-Early life:...
) marry, while Dr. Cox is promoted to chief of medicine to replace the dismissed Dr. Maddox. J.D. prepares to leave Sacred Heart to move closer to his son, along with Elliot. Turk is also promoted to chief of surgery at Sacred Heart.
Coinciding with season eight, Scrubs: Interns
Scrubs: Interns
Scrubs: Interns is a webisode series from ABC based on the comedy-drama series Scrubs in its eighth season, which originally aired premiered on ABC.com, the day of a new Scrubs episode aired...
was also launched, focusing around the eighth season's medical interns, Sonja "Sunny" Dey (Sonal Shah), Denise (Eliza Coupe
Eliza Coupe
Eliza Coupe is an American actress best known for her role as Denise "Jo" Mahoney in the medical comedy Scrubs, in which she became a regular for the ninth season. Coupe currently stars as Jane Williams in the ABC comedy series Happy Endings.-Career:Coupe grew up in New Hampshire and graduated...
), Katie (Betsy Beutler), and Howie (Todd Bosley
Todd Bosley
Todd Bosley , is an American actor. Bosley lives in Los Angeles, California.He is best known for playing the role of Howie in the sitcom Scrubs. He began his acting career a child, having notable roles in Little Giants and Jack alongside Robin Williams...
). The interns learn from various characters of the show about life in the hospital.
The ninth season
Scrubs (season 9)
The ninth and final season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on ABC on December 1, 2009 and concluded on March 17, 2010 and consists of 13 episodes...
takes place over a year after season eight's finale. The old Sacred Heart hospital has been torn down and rebuilt and Doctors Cox, Dorian and Turk are now Winston University medical school professors whose students occasionally rotate through the new Sacred Heart. Between the end of season eight and the beginning of season nine, the Janitor has left the hospital after being told that J.D. was not returning, and Elliot and J.D. have married and are expecting their first child. J.D.'s stay at the university is short and he leaves the series after several episodes.
Production
The origin for the show is loosely based on Dr. Jonathan Doris' experiences as a resident in internal medicineInternal medicine
Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...
at Brown Medical School
Brown Medical School
The Warren Alpert Medical School is the medical school of Brown University, located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. First established in 1811, the school was suspended after sixteen years of operation by university President Francis Wayland. The medical school was reinstated in 1975...
, which served as inspiration for college friend and show creator Bill Lawrence
Bill Lawrence (producer)
William Van Duzer Lawrence IV is an American screenwriter, producer, and director best known as the creator of Scrubs and co-creator of Cougar Town. Lawrence is married to the actress Christa Miller whom he cast in both television series; they have three children together...
.
Scrubs is produced by ABC, through its production division, even though it was aired by rival broadcaster NBC. According to show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
Lawrence, the arrangement is unusual, at least for 2007: "The show is a dinosaur, on one network and completely owned by another" and, since it is now in syndication, making a "ton of money for Touchstone." Both he and Braff confirmed ABC would have broadcast the seventh season had NBC refused to do so.
Title sequence
The chest X-ray featured at the end of the title sequence was hung backwards for most of the first five seasons. Bill LawrenceBill Lawrence (producer)
William Van Duzer Lawrence IV is an American screenwriter, producer, and director best known as the creator of Scrubs and co-creator of Cougar Town. Lawrence is married to the actress Christa Miller whom he cast in both television series; they have three children together...
has stated that having the X-ray backwards was intentional as it signified that the new interns were inexperienced. During Zach Braff's
Zach Braff
Zachary Israel "Zach" Braff is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, comedian, and director. Braff first became known in 2001 for his role as Dr. John Dorian on the television series Scrubs, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards.In 2004, Braff made his...
audio commentary on "My Last Chance", he states that the error was actually unintentional. The error became somewhat infamous and was even parodied in "My Cabbage".
An attempt was made to fix the error in the extended title sequence that was used at the beginning of season 2 that included Neil Flynn
Neil Flynn
Neil Richard Flynn is an American actor and comedian, known for his role as Janitor in the medical comedy-drama Scrubs. He currently portrays Mike Heck in the ABC sitcom The Middle.-Early life:...
, but the extended sequence (including corrected X-ray) were soon scrapped at fan and network request. Finally, in "My Urologist", Dr. Kim Briggs steps into the credits and switches the X-ray around, saying, "That's backwards; it's been bugging me for years". At the beginning of season 8, when the series switched to ABC, the chest X-ray was once again backwards.
The ninth season features a new title sequence with a new version of the theme song "Superman." The new title sequences features the four new characters–Denise, Lucy, Drew and Cole, as well as Dr. Cox and Turk, while J.D. is seen at the end placing the chest X-ray. In all season 9 episodes that do not feature J.D., he is absent from the title sequence and Lucy is the one placing the X-ray. The X-ray at the end of the sequence is also not backwards and the subtitle Med School appears at the end of the sequence.
Main crew
The show's creator, executive producer, and head writer is Bill LawrenceBill Lawrence (producer)
William Van Duzer Lawrence IV is an American screenwriter, producer, and director best known as the creator of Scrubs and co-creator of Cougar Town. Lawrence is married to the actress Christa Miller whom he cast in both television series; they have three children together...
. He has written 14 episodes and directed 17. He is also the show runner and does many uncredited re-writes for episodes. Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan
Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan
Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan are a television writing team who have worked on television comedies Family Guy and Scrubs. Their most recent project was the television pilot Nobody's Watching, which they created and wrote with Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence.The character on Family Guy named Neil...
co-wrote 13 episodes during their 8-year run on the show, starting as co-producers on the show and working their way up to executive producers; they left the show after the eighth season. Mike Schwartz
Mike Schwartz
Mike Schwartz was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and was raised in Compton, California. He has lived in Compton for several years, pursuing a career as an actor and a writer in the entertainment field. He was a writer and co-executive producer on the NBC/ABC television comedy drama Scrubs from 2001...
, who also played Lloyd the Delivery Guy, wrote 13 episodes during the first eight seasons; he started out as a story editor and became co-executive producer in season 6. Janae Bakken
Janae Bakken
Janae Bakken is an American television producer and screenwriter best known for her work on the television series Scrubs....
and Debra Fordham were writers and producers during the first eight seasons, each writing 16 episodes. Other notable writers that started in the first season include Mark Stegemann, who wrote 14 episodes and directed 2 episodes during the first eight seasons; Gabrielle Allan, who wrote 11 episodes during the first four seasons and was co-executive producer; Eric Weinberg
Eric Weinberg
Eric Weinberg is an American television producer and screenwriter best known for his work on the television series Scrubs.Weinberg has served as co-executive producer on Scrubs for over a hundred episodes since 2002, and is credited as supervising producer and writer for an additional twenty...
, who wrote 11 episodes during the first six seasons and was co-executive producer; Matt Tarses, who wrote 8 episodes during the first four seasons and was co-executive producer. Notable writers that joined in the second season include Tim Hobert, who wrote 11 episodes from season 2 to 6, and became executive producer in season 5. Angela Nissel
Angela Nissel
Angela R. Nissel is an author best known for her first book, The Broke Diaries: The Completely True and Hilarious Misadventures of a Good Girl Gone Broke...
wrote 10 episodes from season 2 to 8, starting out as a staff writer and became supervising producer in season 7. Bill Callahan
Bill Callahan (producer)
Bill Callahan is a writer/producer for such shows as Spin City, 8 Simple Rules, Oliver Beene, Scrubs and Psych.-Career:Callahan was an executive producer/writer on Scrubs, which entered its ninth season on December 1, 2009...
joined the show in season 4, writing 8 episodes from season 4 to 8, he became executive producer in season 6.
Adam Bernstein
Adam Bernstein
Adam Bernstein is an American film, music video and television director and screenwriter. He was born in Princeton, New Jersey...
, who directed the pilot episode, "My First Day
My First Day
"My First Day" is the pilot episode of the American comedy-drama Scrubs. It originally aired on October 2, 2001 on NBC. The episode was written by series creator Bill Lawrence and directed by Adam Bernstein....
", also directed 11 episodes up until season 7. Michael Spiller
Michael Spiller
Michael Alan Spiller is an American cinematographer and television director.Spiller has directed on numerous series and has also served as a cinematographer prior to directing and worked frequently with Hal Hartley. He was a regular director on the HBO series, Sex and the City where he also served...
has directed the highest amount of episodes, directing 20 during the entire series run. Ken Whittingham
Ken Whittingham
Ken Whittingham is an American television director.His most notable directorial work includes a number of episodes from each of the television series 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Suburgatory, The Middle, Parenthood, The Bernie Mac Show, Scrubs, Everybody Hates Chris, The Office, My Name Is Earl,...
and Chris Koch both directed 12 episodes from season 2 to 9. Comedian Michael McDonald, who also appeared on the show, directed 5 episodes. Show star Zach Braff
Zach Braff
Zachary Israel "Zach" Braff is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, comedian, and director. Braff first became known in 2001 for his role as Dr. John Dorian on the television series Scrubs, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards.In 2004, Braff made his...
directed 7 episodes of the show, including the landmark 100th episode "My Way Home
My Way Home
"My Way Home" is the 7th episode of season five and the 100th episode of the American comedy-drama Scrubs. It originally aired on January 24, 2006 on NBC....
", which won a Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
in April 2007. In 2009 Josh Bycel
Josh Bycel
Josh Bycel is a television writer/producer. He has worked on such shows as Veronica's Closet, It's All Relative, Andy Barker P.I., and American Dad. He has recently been hired as the executive producer and co-showrunner for the revamped ninth season of Scrubs.-Writer:*09.Scrubs **Our Drunken...
, a writer and supervising producer for the animated comedy American Dad!
American Dad!
American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
, joined the crew as a new executive producer for the ninth season.
Medical advisors
Scrubs writers work with several medical advisors, including doctors Jonathan Doris, Jon Turk, and Dolly Klock. Their names serve as the basis for the names of characters John Dorian, Chris Turk and Molly Clock (played by BraffZach Braff
Zachary Israel "Zach" Braff is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, comedian, and director. Braff first became known in 2001 for his role as Dr. John Dorian on the television series Scrubs, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards.In 2004, Braff made his...
, Faison
Donald Faison
Donald Adeosun Faison is an American actor, comedian, and voice actor best known for his role as Dr. Chris Turk in the ABC comedy-drama Scrubs and as Murray in the film Clueless and the subsequent television series of the same name.Faison has also co-starred in the films Remember the Titans ,...
, and Heather Graham
Heather Graham
Heather Joan Graham is an American actress. She has appeared in such films as Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Lost in Space, Bowfinger, From Hell, Anger Management, and The Hangover...
, respectively). In the season eight finale "My Finale
My Finale
"My Finale" is the hour-long season finale for season eight of the American sitcom Scrubs. It was originally broadcast as episode 18 of season eight on May 6, 2009, and was intended to be the series finale. However, the show unexpectedly returned for a ninth season...
", the "real J.D.", Jonathan Doris, made a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
as the doctor who said "adios" to J.D.
Filming location and Sacred Heart Hospital
In the show, Sacred Heart is an inner city teaching hospital owned by a pharmaceutical company run by Whitaker Chambers. It is run by Chief of Medicine Dr. Robert "Bob" Kelso until his retirement towards the end of Season 7 and then by Dr. Percival "Perry" Cox. Board members and benefactors include Jordan Sullivan (former), Mr. Summers, Mr. Swatt, Ms. Slobin, Mr. Franks, Mrs. Warner, and Mr. Zerbo.The first eight seasons of Scrubs were filmed on location at the North Hollywood Medical Center
North Hollywood Medical Center
North Hollywood Medical Center was a hospital in the community of North Hollywood, California, demolished in mid 2011. It was located at 12629 Riverside Drive in North Hollywood in the San Fernando Valley, north of Los Angeles...
, a real decommissioned (and in 2011, demolished) hospital located at 12629 Riverside Drive in North Hollywood, but the location of Sacred Heart Hospital within the fictional world of Scrubs is left ambiguous. Cast and crew on the show refer to the location as "San DiFrangeles"—a portmanteau of San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
that is meant to encompass a large part of California. For the ninth season the show moved to Culver Studios
Culver Studios
The Culver Studios is a historic Colonial-styled movie studio located at 9336 W. Washington Blvd., in Culver City, California. It was the site of filming for Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane and other classics from Hollywood’s Golden Age...
. The building used for the exteriors of the new Sacred Heart Hospital is located at the intersection of Ince Boulevard and Lindblade Street in Culver City, California (34.023988°N 118.391414°W).
WGA strike and network change
On November 5, 2007, the Writers Guild of AmericaWriters Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
went on strike
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
, which put the production of the show's seventh season on hold. When the strike started, only eleven of Scrubs eighteen planned seventh season episodes had been completely written. Lawrence refused to cross any WGA picket lines to serve any of his duties for the show, so ABC Studios had non-WGA members finish episode twelve, which the studio had unsuccessfully pressured Lawrence to rewrite as a series finale prior to the strike.
During the strike, NBC announced that The Office and Scrubs would be replaced by Celebrity Apprentice
The Apprentice (U.S. TV series)
The Apprentice is an American reality television show hosted by real estate magnate, businessman and television personality Donald Trump, created by Mark Burnett and broadcast on NBC...
. NBC later announced that they would leave Scrubs on hiatus for the time being and fill the 8–9 pm timeslot with various specials and repeats.
Episode 11, "My Princess
My Princess
"My Princess" is the season seven finale and the 150th episode of the American sitcom Scrubs. It was broadcast on May 8, 2008 on NBC. Although produced as episode 9, the episode was rearranged to be the season finale due to the season being cut short because of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of...
", was eventually filmed, although Lawrence was absent. Filming of episode 11 was disrupted by picketers. It was believed that Lawrence had tipped the picketers off about the filming schedule, although these beliefs turned out to be false as Lawrence quickly drove to the set to "keep the peace." After the strike ended, Lawrence announced that the final episodes of Scrubs would be produced although, at the time, he was unsure where or how they would be distributed.
Switch to ABC
Amid strike-induced doubt involving the final episodes of Scrubs, on February 28, 2008, The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
reported that ABC was in talks with corporate sibling ABC Studios with the aim of bringing Scrubs to ABC for an eighth season of 18 episodes, despite both Lawrence's and Braff's protests that the seventh season would definitely be the last. Just hours later, Variety reported that NBC was lashing out and threatening legal action against ABC Studios. McGinley confirmed that he had been told to report back to work on March 24, 2008 to begin production for another season. On March 12, 2008, McGinley was also quoted as saying that the show's long-rumored move from NBC to ABC was a done deal, and that Scrubs would air on ABC during the 2008–09 TV season as a midseason replacement.
On March 19, 2008, Michael Ausiello
Michael Ausiello
Michael Ausiello is an American television industry journalist and actor. He was a Senior Writer at TV Guide and its companion website, TVGuide.com. On May 28, 2008, Ausiello left TV Guide for Entertainment Weekly and posted his first blog for Entertainment Weekly on July 2, 2008...
of TV Guide reported that although nothing was "official", the Scrubs cast was to report back to work the following Wednesday for work on a season "unofficial" as yet. Zach Braff posted in his blog on MySpace, on April 28, 2008, that an eighth season consisting of 18 episodes was under production but that he could not say where it will be aired. He then stated, on May 7, 2008, that the May 8 episode would be the final NBC-aired episode of Scrubs, which was followed by a bulletin on his MySpace, on May 12, confirming that Scrubss eighth season would be moving to ABC.
Season eight
On May 13, 2008, ABC announced that Scrubs would be a midseason replacementMidseason replacement
In American and Canadian television, a midseason replacement is a television series that premieres in the second half of the traditional television season, usually between January and May...
, airing Tuesday nights at 9:00 pm EST. Steve McPherson, ABC's President of Entertainment, also stated that additional seasons of Scrubs beyond the eighth could be produced if it performs well. In late November, ABC announced Scrubs would resume with back-to-back episodes on January 6, 2009 at 9:00 pm EST.
Creator Bill Lawrence stated in a video interview that season 8 will be more like the first few seasons in tone, with more of a focus on more realistic and dramatic storylines and the introduction of new characters. Courteney Cox
Courteney Cox
Courteney Bass Cox is an American actress, she is best known for her roles as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, Gale Weathers in the horror series Scream and as Jules Cobb in the ABC sitcom Cougar Town, for which she earned her first Golden Globe nomination....
joined the cast as the new Chief of Medicine, Dr. Maddox, for a three-episode arc. The eighth season includes webisodes and is the first Scrubs season broadcast in high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
.
Sarah Chalke
Sarah Chalke
Sarah Chalke is a Canadian-American actress known for portraying Dr. Elliot Reid on the NBC/ABC comedy Scrubs, "Second Becky" Conner Healy on Roseanne, and Stella Zinman in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother...
was hoping that J.D. and Elliot would end up back together, comparing them to Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
characters Ross
Ross Geller
Ross Eustace Geller, Ph.D. is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television series Friends, portrayed by David Schwimmer. The character is noted for his geeky, lovable demeanor.- Origin :...
and Rachel
Rachel Green
Rachel Karen Green is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television sitcom Friends, portrayed by Jennifer Aniston. Aniston received an Emmy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe for her performances.-Background:...
, which has been addressed a few times on the show. In the early episodes of the season they did rekindle their relationship, and have continued dating through the end of the season. Several actors who guest starred as patients at Sacred Heart during the course of Scrubs returned for the finale.
The double-length season eight finale, "My Finale
My Finale
"My Finale" is the hour-long season finale for season eight of the American sitcom Scrubs. It was originally broadcast as episode 18 of season eight on May 6, 2009, and was intended to be the series finale. However, the show unexpectedly returned for a ninth season...
", aired May 6, 2009, and was expected to be the series finale as well. However, it soon became clear that the show would return for a ninth season.
Season nine
On April 16, 2009, Bill Lawrence wrote on the ABC.com message boards that a season 9 of Scrubs was still "50/50." On April 28, 2009, it was announced that ABC was in talks to renew Scrubs for another year, but if this were to happen, some of the cast may or may not be back [due to other commitments], or only back part time.Bill Lawrence also stated that Scrubs as we know it is over, for the show to move forward with a new cast in an ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
type role on ABC, or take a new title completely. In response to criticisms that the change would tarnish Scrubs legacy, Lawrence defended the decision, as it would allow the Scrubs crew to continue work through a recession: "'Legacy shmegacy.' I'm really proud of the show, I'll continue to be proud of the show, but I love all of those people..."
On June 19, 2009, it was announced that the reformatted ninth season of Scrubs would "shift from the hospital to the classroom and make med-school professors of John C. McGinley's Dr. Cox and Donald Faison's Turk." According to Lawrence, the ninth season will "be a lot like Paper Chase
The Paper Chase (TV series)
The Paper Chase is a television series based on a 1970 novel by John Jay Osborn, Jr., as well as a 1973 film based on the novel. It follows the lives of law student James T. Hart and his classmates at Harvard Law School.-Production:...
as a comedy", with Cox and Turk's students occasionally rotating through the halls of Sacred Heart and encountering former series regulars. McGinley and Faison were joined by "a quartet of newbies (most of them playing students)" as full-time regulars, while one of the freshmen "will be fairly famous".
The biggest change to the show for the ninth season is a major cast revamp. Of the seven actors who have appeared in the show since the pilot, only Donald Faison
Donald Faison
Donald Adeosun Faison is an American actor, comedian, and voice actor best known for his role as Dr. Chris Turk in the ABC comedy-drama Scrubs and as Murray in the film Clueless and the subsequent television series of the same name.Faison has also co-starred in the films Remember the Titans ,...
and John C. McGinley
John C. McGinley
John Christopher McGinley is an American actor, most notable for his roles as Perry Cox in Scrubs, Bob Slydell in Office Space, Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's Platoon and Marv in Stone's Wall Street. He has also written and produced for television and film...
were set to retain their roles as regulars. Zach Braff
Zach Braff
Zachary Israel "Zach" Braff is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, comedian, and director. Braff first became known in 2001 for his role as Dr. John Dorian on the television series Scrubs, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards.In 2004, Braff made his...
returned part-time and still received first star billing for the episodes he was present in. Sarah Chalke
Sarah Chalke
Sarah Chalke is a Canadian-American actress known for portraying Dr. Elliot Reid on the NBC/ABC comedy Scrubs, "Second Becky" Conner Healy on Roseanne, and Stella Zinman in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother...
returned for four episodes as a guest star; Although credited as a guest star, Ken Jenkins
Ken Jenkins
Ken Jenkins is an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Bob Kelso, the Chief of Medicine on the American comedy Scrubs....
appeared in the majority of the season, appearing in nine of the thirteen episodes; Neil Flynn
Neil Flynn
Neil Richard Flynn is an American actor and comedian, known for his role as Janitor in the medical comedy-drama Scrubs. He currently portrays Mike Heck in the ABC sitcom The Middle.-Early life:...
appeared in the season premiere in a brief cameo; and Judy Reyes
Judy Reyes
Judy Reyes is an American actress of Dominican heritage. She is best known for her portrayal of nurse Carla Espinosa on the TV comedy Scrubs.-Early life:...
was absent the entire season, making her the only former star not to return to the show. Her character Carla is only mentioned occasionally and Turk is seen speaking with her by phone in the end of one episode. The new main cast included Eliza Coupe
Eliza Coupe
Eliza Coupe is an American actress best known for her role as Denise "Jo" Mahoney in the medical comedy Scrubs, in which she became a regular for the ninth season. Coupe currently stars as Jane Williams in the ABC comedy series Happy Endings.-Career:Coupe grew up in New Hampshire and graduated...
returning to the recurring role of Denise "Jo" Mahoney from season eight, Dave Franco
Dave Franco
David John "Dave" Franco is an American television and film actor who played the role of Cole Aaronson for season nine of Scrubs.-Personal life:...
as Cole, a charming, confidently stupid and incredibly entitled medical student whose family donated the money to build the school, Kerry Bishé
Kerry Bishé
Kerry Bishé , is an American actress, best known for playing Lucy Bennett, the main character in season nine of medical comedy Scrubs...
as Lucy, who shared the starring role with Braff in the beginning of the season and eventually became the show's new narrator, and Michael Mosley as Drew, a 30-year old med student on his last attempt at school.
Another major change is the setting of the show and where it is filmed. For the first eight seasons, the show was filmed at the North Hollywood Medical Center
North Hollywood Medical Center
North Hollywood Medical Center was a hospital in the community of North Hollywood, California, demolished in mid 2011. It was located at 12629 Riverside Drive in North Hollywood in the San Fernando Valley, north of Los Angeles...
but production for this season took place at Culver Studios. As a result, in the show, the existing Sacred Heart hospital was mentioned to have been torn down and re-built on the "Winston University" campus.
Cancellation
On May 14, 2010, it was announced the show was officially canceled. The season nine finale, titled "Our Thanks", aired March 17, 2010. Five days later, on March 22, 2010, Zach Braff announced, via the official Facebook page, that the ninth season of Scrubs would be the last, commenting that; "Many of you have asked, so here it is: it appears that 'New Scrubs', 'Scrubs 2.0', 'Scrubs with New Kids', 'Scrubbier', 'Scrubs without JD' is no more. It was worth a try, but alas... it didn't work."Crossovers
Zach BraffZach Braff
Zachary Israel "Zach" Braff is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, comedian, and director. Braff first became known in 2001 for his role as Dr. John Dorian on the television series Scrubs, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards.In 2004, Braff made his...
, Sarah Chalke
Sarah Chalke
Sarah Chalke is a Canadian-American actress known for portraying Dr. Elliot Reid on the NBC/ABC comedy Scrubs, "Second Becky" Conner Healy on Roseanne, and Stella Zinman in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother...
, Judy Reyes
Judy Reyes
Judy Reyes is an American actress of Dominican heritage. She is best known for her portrayal of nurse Carla Espinosa on the TV comedy Scrubs.-Early life:...
, John C. McGinley
John C. McGinley
John Christopher McGinley is an American actor, most notable for his roles as Perry Cox in Scrubs, Bob Slydell in Office Space, Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's Platoon and Marv in Stone's Wall Street. He has also written and produced for television and film...
and Neil Flynn
Neil Flynn
Neil Richard Flynn is an American actor and comedian, known for his role as Janitor in the medical comedy-drama Scrubs. He currently portrays Mike Heck in the ABC sitcom The Middle.-Early life:...
reprised their roles as J.D., Elliot Reid
Elliot Reid
Dr. Elliot Reid is a fictional character played by Sarah Chalke in the American comedy-drama Scrubs. She has appeared in every episode during the first eight seasons except two Season 8 episodes, "My Last Words" and "My Lawyer's in Love"....
, Carla Espinosa
Carla Espinosa
Carla Espinosa, RN is a fictional character in the American comedy-drama Scrubs, portrayed by Judy Reyes.Carla has appeared in every episode during the first eight seasons except three Season 8 episodes, "My Happy Place", "My Cookie Pants" and "My Full Moon"...
, Perry Cox and the Janitor
Janitor (Scrubs)
The Janitor is a fictional character, played by actor Neil Flynn in the American comedy-drama Scrubs.Neil Flynn was originally billed as a recurring guest star throughout Season 1, although he appeared in all 24 episodes of that season. He was promoted to a series regular beginning with Season 2...
to make a cameo appearances in the 2003 Muppets
The Muppets
The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference...
film It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie is a 2002 television film that aired on NBC on November 29, 2002. The film is directed by Kirk Thatcher, written by Tom Martin and Jim Lewis and stars the Muppets and was filmed at Lionsgate Studios. The film revolves a plot similar to "It's A Wonderful...
, trying to reanimate Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy is a Muppet character who was primarily played by Frank Oz on The Muppet Show. In 2001, Eric Jacobson began performing the role, although Oz did not officially retire until 2002....
. Eventually, Piggy and the Scrubs cast break the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
, with the actors portraying themselves and Bill Lawrence
Bill Lawrence (producer)
William Van Duzer Lawrence IV is an American screenwriter, producer, and director best known as the creator of Scrubs and co-creator of Cougar Town. Lawrence is married to the actress Christa Miller whom he cast in both television series; they have three children together...
appearing as himself/the director of the current episode.
Sam Lloyd
Sam Lloyd
Sam Lloyd may refer to:*Samuel T. Lloyd III, dean of Washington National Cathedral*Sam Lloyd, recurring guest character on several television shows including Scrubs and Desperate Housewives-See also:...
reprised his role as Ted Buckland
Ted Buckland
Theodore "Ted" Buckland, Esq., most commonly referred to as Ted Buckland , is a fictional character played by Sam Lloyd in Bill Lawrence series Scrubs and Cougar Town, and the only character to appears in both series.Created for Scrubs, Ted is the depressive, suicidal and incompetent lawyer of the...
in the season 2 finale
Cougar Town (season 2)
Season two of Cougar Town, an American television series, has begun to air since September 22, 2010. Season two regular cast members include Courteney Cox, Christa Miller, Busy Philipps, Brian Van Holt, Dan Byrd, Ian Gomez and Josh Hopkins...
of the Lawrence series Cougar Town
Cougar Town
Cougar Town is an American television sitcom that premiered on ABC on September 23, 2009. The series focuses on a recently divorced woman in her forties facing the often humorous challenges, pitfalls and rewards of life's next chapter, along with her son, ex-husband, and friends who together make...
. In the episode, written and directed by Lawrence, Ted is in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and says his girlfriend, Stephanie Gooch, has run off with Dr. Hooch. Lloyd will to reprise his role once again in season 3. Scrubs regulars Zach Braff
Zach Braff
Zachary Israel "Zach" Braff is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, comedian, and director. Braff first became known in 2001 for his role as Dr. John Dorian on the television series Scrubs, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards.In 2004, Braff made his...
, Ken Jenkins
Ken Jenkins
Ken Jenkins is an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Bob Kelso, the Chief of Medicine on the American comedy Scrubs....
(who have appeared before), Sarah Chalke
Sarah Chalke
Sarah Chalke is a Canadian-American actress known for portraying Dr. Elliot Reid on the NBC/ABC comedy Scrubs, "Second Becky" Conner Healy on Roseanne, and Stella Zinman in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother...
, Robert Maschio
Robert Maschio
Robert Maschio is an American actor. He is known for playing Dr. Todd 'The Todd' Quinlan in the American comedy-drama Scrubs.-Career:...
, and Nicole Sullivan
Nicole Sullivan
Nicole Julianne Sullivan is an American actress, comedian and voice artist. Sullivan is best known for her six seasons on the sketch comedy series MADtv and five seasons on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens.She has played a recurring character on Scrubs and voices the villainous Shego in...
will appear (as different characters) in the third season as well.
Cinematography and delivery format
The show is shot with a single-Single-camera setup
The single-camera setup, or single-camera mode of production, is a method of filmmaking and video production. A single camera—either motion picture camera or professional video camera—is employed on the set and each shot to make up a scene is taken individually...
instead of multiple-camera setup
Multiple-camera setup
The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, or multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneously record or broadcast a scene...
more typical for sitcoms. The season four episode "My Life in Four Cameras", has a brief multi-camera style, since it includes J.D.'s fantasies of life being more like a traditional sitcom.
John Inwood, the cinematographer of the series, shot the series with his own Aaton
Aaton
Aaton is a motion picture equipment manufacturer, based in Grenoble, France. Aaton was founded by Eclair engineer Jean-Pierre Beauviala, whose efforts have been primarily focused on making quiet, portable motion picture hardware suitable for impromptu field use, as for documentaries...
XTR prod Super16 film camera. Despite the fact that some broadcasters, such as the BBC, consider Super16 a "non-HD" format, John Inwood believed that footage from his camera was not only sufficient to air in high definition, it "looked terrific."
Except for the finale of season 5, "My Transition", which was broadcast in high-definition
High-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
, the first seven seasons of the show have been broadcast in standard-definition
Standard-definition television
Sorete-definition television is a television system that uses a resolution that is not considered to be either enhanced-definition television or high-definition television . The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same resolution as...
with 4:3 frame aspect ratio. After the show was moved from NBC to ABC, the broadcast format for new episodes changed to high-definition. John Inwood opined that older episodes could be re-released in HD as well. From the very beginning he filmed the show with widescreen delivery in mind so the whole series could be aired in high-definition when the market evolved.
All nine seasons have been released on DVD
DVD-Video
DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs, and is currently the dominant consumer video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia. Discs using the DVD-Video specification require a DVD drive and a MPEG-2 decoder...
in 4:3 format. However, the eighth season was also released on Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
in original widescreen format.
Music
Music plays a large role in Scrubs. A wide variety of rock, pop, and indieIndie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
artists are featured, and almost every episode ends with a musical montage summing up the themes and plot lines of the episode, and the music for these montages is often picked even before the episodes are completely written.
Members of the cast and crew are encouraged to contribute song suggestions, with many ideas coming from series creator Bill Lawrence, writer Neil Goldman
Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan
Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan are a television writing team who have worked on television comedies Family Guy and Scrubs. Their most recent project was the television pilot Nobody's Watching, which they created and wrote with Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence.The character on Family Guy named Neil...
, and actors Zach Braff (whose college friends Cary Brothers
Cary Brothers
Cary Brothers is an American indie rock singer-songwriter originally from Nashville, Tennessee. After moving to Los Angeles and becoming a regular performer at the influential Hotel Cafe venue, Brothers first gained national attention with his song "Blue Eyes" on the Platinum-selling,...
and Joshua Radin
Joshua Radin
Joshua Radin is an American recording artist, songwriter and actor. He was born and raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and is of Swedish, German, Polish, Russian, and Austrian descent. He studied drawing and painting at Northwestern University, following his college years with stints as an art...
appear on the Scrubs soundtrack) and Christa Miller Lawrence
Christa Miller
Christa Miller is an American actress who has achieved success in television comedy. Her foremost roles include Kate O'Brien on The Drew Carey Show and Jordan Sullivan on Scrubs . She has also appeared on Seinfeld and CSI: Miami...
(who selected Colin Hay
Colin Hay
Colin James Hay is a Scottish-Australian musician, who made his mark during the 1980s as lead vocalist of the Australian band Men at Work, and later as a solo artist.- Early life and Men at Work :...
and Tammany Hall NYC
Tammany Hall NYC
Tammany Hall NYC, also abbreviated THNYC, is an independent rock band based in New York City that has achieved a fair amount of success. Their music has been used in various television shows such as The Sopranos, Into Character, Scrubs, It Takes a Thief and Sex and the City...
). According to Bill Lawrence
Bill Lawrence (producer)
William Van Duzer Lawrence IV is an American screenwriter, producer, and director best known as the creator of Scrubs and co-creator of Cougar Town. Lawrence is married to the actress Christa Miller whom he cast in both television series; they have three children together...
, "Christa picks so much of the music for the show that a lot of the writers and actors don't even go to me anymore when they have a song. They hand it to her."
In addition to music being featured as a soundtrack to the show, the cast themselves also sing on a frequent basis, such as in the episode "My Best Friend's Mistake" when the entire cast had the Erasure
Erasure
Erasure are an English synthpop duo, consisting of songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single "Who Needs Love Like That"...
song "A Little Respect
A Little Respect
American band Wheatus released the song in July 2001 as their second single from their debut album. The single peaked at number three in the United Kingdom, while reaching number 19 in Austria and number 41 in New Zealand.-Critical reception:...
" stuck in their heads and would sing it repeatedly. Producers expanded Scrubs musical emphasis with a musical episode early in the sixth season, called "My Musical
My Musical
"My Musical" is a musical episode from the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs. It follows the story of Patti Miller, played by guest star Stephanie D'Abruzzo of Avenue Q fame, a woman who mysteriously starts hearing everyone's speech as singing.The episode was written by Deb Fordham,...
". This episode aired on January 18, 2007.
Theme song
The theme song of the series, performed by Lazlo BaneLazlo Bane
Lazlo Bane is an alternative rock band hailing from Santa Monica, California, United States. They are well known for collaborating with former Men at Work member Colin Hay, and providing the song "Superman" as the theme for the television show Scrubs...
, is titled "Superman
Superman (Lazlo Bane song)
“Superman” is a song by the American band Lazlo Bane, from their album All the Time in the World. It was written by Lazlo Bane and Pondy Doorcan. It is most noted for being the theme song to the American TV series Scrubs...
", and can be found on the album All the Time in the World, as well as on the first Scrubs soundtrack. Lawrence credits Braff for finding and suggesting "Superman" as the theme song.
The lyric "I'm no Superman" refers to the show's theme of its characters' fallibility.
The Scrubs main title is performed at a faster tempo than the original recording of the song. The original, slower recording was used briefly at the beginning of season 2, played during an extended version of the title sequence, as well as the opening for "My Urologist", and a special edit of the title sequence for resulting in roughly 1–2 seconds of music, followed by the line "I'm no Superman", accompanied by a quick flash of credits. The original intro from season 1 was used through most of season 3 and then used for seasons four through eight. Beginning with season nine, a new version of "Superman" is used which is performed by WAZ.
Soundtracks
Three official soundtracks have been released. The first soundtrack, Music From Scrubs, was released on CD on September 24, 2002. The second soundtrack, Scrubs Original Soundtrack Vol. 2, was released exclusively on iTunes on May 9, 2006. The third soundtrack, "My Musical" Soundtrack, featured the music composed and performed in musical episode "My MusicalMy Musical
"My Musical" is a musical episode from the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs. It follows the story of Patti Miller, played by guest star Stephanie D'Abruzzo of Avenue Q fame, a woman who mysteriously starts hearing everyone's speech as singing.The episode was written by Deb Fordham,...
"; it was released on Amazon.com and iTunes on August 7, 2007.
Featured musical contributors
Colin HayColin Hay
Colin James Hay is a Scottish-Australian musician, who made his mark during the 1980s as lead vocalist of the Australian band Men at Work, and later as a solo artist.- Early life and Men at Work :...
, the former frontman of Men at Work
Men at Work
Men at Work are an Australian rock band who achieved international success in the 1980s. They are the only Australian artists to have a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United States . They achieved the same distinction of a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United Kingdom...
, has had music featured in at least seven episodes, and has appeared in the episode "My Overkill", performing the song "Overkill
Overkill (Men at Work song)
"Overkill" is a song by Australian band Men at Work and featured on their 1983 album Cargo. It was written by lead singer Colin Hay. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at #28 in April 1983 and peaked at #3 in early June. When it was first released, it was a departure from the typical...
" as a street musician, and in the episode "My Hard Labor
My Hard Labor
"My Hard Labor" is the second episode of season seven and 141st episode of the American sitcom Scrubs. It aired on November 1, 2007 on NBC.-Plot:...
" performing "Down Under
Down Under (song)
"Down Under" is a pop song recorded by Men at Work for their debut album Business as Usual . The song went to #1 on American, British, Canadian and Australian charts....
". Hay also sings "Where Everybody Knows Your Name", the theme from Cheers
Cheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
, in the episode "My Life in Four Cameras" and the episode "My Philosophy" features Hay's song "Waiting For My Real Life To Begin", sung by several members of the cast. He also appeared in "My Finale".
The music of Joshua Radin
Joshua Radin
Joshua Radin is an American recording artist, songwriter and actor. He was born and raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and is of Swedish, German, Polish, Russian, and Austrian descent. He studied drawing and painting at Northwestern University, following his college years with stints as an art...
, who is a friend of Scrubs star Zach Braff, appeared in six episodes.
Music by Keren DeBerg
Keren DeBerg
Keren DeBerg is an American singer-songwriter. She has performed at Lilith Fair and is known for contributing songs to the TV show Scrubs....
has featured in 15 episodes, and she appeared in "My Musical
My Musical
"My Musical" is a musical episode from the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs. It follows the story of Patti Miller, played by guest star Stephanie D'Abruzzo of Avenue Q fame, a woman who mysteriously starts hearing everyone's speech as singing.The episode was written by Deb Fordham,...
" as an extra in the song "All Right".
Clay Aiken
Clay Aiken
Clayton Holmes "Clay" Aiken is an American singer, songwriter, actor, producer and author who began his rise to fame on the second season of the television program American Idol in 2003. RCA Records offered him a recording contract, and his multi-platinum debut album Measure of a Man was released...
has appeared in the episode "My Life in Four Cameras" and performed the song "Isn't She Lovely?" by Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
.
The "Worthless Peons"
The Worthless Peons (also known as Ted's Band, The Blanks, or in the "My Way HomeMy Way Home
"My Way Home" is the 7th episode of season five and the 100th episode of the American comedy-drama Scrubs. It originally aired on January 24, 2006 on NBC....
" Director's Cut as "Foghat
Foghat
Foghat are a British rock band that had their peak success in the mid- to late-1970s. Their style can be described as "blues-rock," or boogie-rock dominated by electric and electric slide guitar. The band has achieved five gold records...
") are an a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
group made up of Sacred Heart hospital employees from different departments. They are a cover band, and often sing songs from a specific genre (for example, cartoon theme songs or commercial jingles). They have appeared in several episodes.
The Worthless Peons are played by The Blanks
The Blanks
The Blanks are an a cappella group. Most notably, they appeared in the TV series Scrubs in a recurring guest role, under various names such as Ted's Band and The Worthless Peons...
, who are a real-life a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
band made up of Sam Lloyd
Sam Lloyd (actor)
Samuel "Sam" Lloyd, Jr. is an American actor and musician, perhaps best known for his portrayal of beaten down lawyer Ted Buckland on the American comedy-drama Scrubs....
(who plays Ted), George Miserlis, Paul F. Perry, and Philip McNiven. The Blanks' album, Riding the Wave
Riding the Wave
Riding the Wave is a 2004 album by The Blanks. It features both original songs by the band and cover versions of other songs, most of which were performed on the TV series Scrubs. It also features candid recordings of the cast and production team of Scrubs . Sam Lloyd was written into the script...
, features guest appearances from Lawrence
Bill Lawrence (producer)
William Van Duzer Lawrence IV is an American screenwriter, producer, and director best known as the creator of Scrubs and co-creator of Cougar Town. Lawrence is married to the actress Christa Miller whom he cast in both television series; they have three children together...
and members of the Scrubs cast. This band was put on the show when Sam Lloyd brought his a cappella band to the Scrubs cast Christmas party. Lloyd told Lawrence about his band, and Lawrence got the idea of putting them in the show.
The Worthless Peons also sing the theme song to the web series Scrubs: Interns
Scrubs: Interns
Scrubs: Interns is a webisode series from ABC based on the comedy-drama series Scrubs in its eighth season, which originally aired premiered on ABC.com, the day of a new Scrubs episode aired...
, which features the new interns from season eight learning about the hospital in the same way that J.D. did in season one. Interns is aired on the ABC website.
Reception
First eight seasons
Scrubs first seasons received critical acclaim, with many critics praised its cast, characters, and humor (especially J.D.'s fantasy sequences). In 2006, Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
s website EW.com gave the overall series (the review was made early after the fifth season
Scrubs (season 5)
The fifth season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on NBC on January 3, 2006 and concluded on May 16, 2006 and consists of 24 episodes. For the first twelve episodes, two new episodes were broadcast back-to-back every Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. ET. Then NBC returned to...
premiere) a grade of "A-", with the author saying "Scrubs is the trickiest comedy on TV [...] A likable, daffy, buoyant series that would be a big annoying mess if it weren't done just right, Scrubs is the very definition of nimble". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the first season a perfect score of 10. The seven following seasons was respectively rated 9, 9, 9, 8, 7.5, 8.3 and 7.5.
Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media , commonly known as CSM, is a San Francisco-based non-profit organization which serves as a guide for parents that has reviews for most media types, including books, movies, video games, music, and websites, and rates them in terms of violence, sex, and profanity. The website...
, who mainly rates series in terms of violence, sex, and profanity, gave Scrubs a positive review and awarded it 4 out of 5 stars despite having rated both "Sex", "Language" and "Drinking, drugs, & smoking" 3 out of 5, stating "this show can be screamingly funny but is very adult-oriented". The Truth About Nursing, who checks the realism of the medical series, gave Scrubs a "Nursing rating" of 1.5 out of 4 stars, but an "Artistic rating" of 3 out of 4 stars, praising that "despite the nasty and surreal elements, its characters are not above learning or growing, as they try to cope with the very real stresses of life and death at the hospital". However the reviewer stated "The show's portrayal of nursing has been less impressive".
Review aggregate Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
only assigned an average score to the eighth
Scrubs (season 8)
The eighth season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on ABC on January 6, 2009 and concluded on May 6, 2009 and consists of 18 episodes. The eighth season was the first to be shown on ABC after NBC dropped the series, ending its seven-year run on the network...
and ninth seasons
Scrubs (season 9)
The ninth and final season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on ABC on December 1, 2009 and concluded on March 17, 2010 and consists of 13 episodes...
, with the eighth season scored 79/100, based on four reviews only (all positives), indicating "Generally favorable reviews". On other review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, despite not having any score because of a too few number of reviews, every season (except the ninth, which is not listed) have unanimously good reviews.
Ninth season
The ninth and final seasonScrubs (season 9)
The ninth and final season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on ABC on December 1, 2009 and concluded on March 17, 2010 and consists of 13 episodes...
received mixed to positive reviews, with many critics heavily criticizing the new cast; it received a score of 64/100 on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, indicating "Generally favorable reviews". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave it a positive score of 7 out of 10, stating "even though this was not the best season, I'll always have fond memories of the show".
USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
reviewer Robert Bianco
Robert Bianco
Robert Bianco is an American television critic. He currently works for USA Today and has an online column. He began his career as a restaurant critic in Pittsburgh and eventually became a television critic at the Pittsburgh Press.-References:...
wrote a negative review, stating "The result is a deadly, deal-driven mistake that takes a network that has made great sitcom strides forward one unfortunate step back". He also notices that the presences of a few members of the original cast (Zach Braff
Zach Braff
Zachary Israel "Zach" Braff is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, comedian, and director. Braff first became known in 2001 for his role as Dr. John Dorian on the television series Scrubs, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards.In 2004, Braff made his...
, Donald Faison
Donald Faison
Donald Adeosun Faison is an American actor, comedian, and voice actor best known for his role as Dr. Chris Turk in the ABC comedy-drama Scrubs and as Murray in the film Clueless and the subsequent television series of the same name.Faison has also co-starred in the films Remember the Titans ,...
and John C. McGinley
John C. McGinley
John Christopher McGinley is an American actor, most notable for his roles as Perry Cox in Scrubs, Bob Slydell in Office Space, Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's Platoon and Marv in Stone's Wall Street. He has also written and produced for television and film...
) "only makes it harder for the new characters to take hold" (despite he also heavily criticized Braff's performance). Blogcritics
Blogcritics
Blogcritics is a blog network and online magazine of news and opinion. The site—a self-proclaimed "sinister cabal of superior writers"—was founded in 2002 by Eric Olsen and Phillip Winn...
gave it a mixed review, criticizing the new cast, but praising the performances by the original cast members.
Awards and nominations
Scrubs has received 17 EmmyEmmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nominations, in categories such as casting, cinematography, directing, editing, and writing. Its fourth season earned the series its first nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series. Zach Braff
Zach Braff
Zachary Israel "Zach" Braff is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, comedian, and director. Braff first became known in 2001 for his role as Dr. John Dorian on the television series Scrubs, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards.In 2004, Braff made his...
was also nominated that year for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. The series was nominated again the following year for Outstanding Comedy Series. At the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards
59th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on September 16, 2007 and were televised live on Fox at 8:00 p.m. EDT for the first time in high definition...
, the episode "My Musical
My Musical
"My Musical" is a musical episode from the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs. It follows the story of Patti Miller, played by guest star Stephanie D'Abruzzo of Avenue Q fame, a woman who mysteriously starts hearing everyone's speech as singing.The episode was written by Deb Fordham,...
" was nominated for five awards in four categories: Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (Will Mackenzie), Outstanding Music Direction (Jan Stevens) and Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics ("Everything Comes Down to Poo" and "Guy Love"); while sharing the award for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) And Animation (Joe Foglia, Peter J. Nusbaum, and John W. Cook II) with Entourage
Entourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...
.
Braff was nominated for the Golden Globe
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
award for Best Actor in a Television Series, Comedy or Musical in 2005, 2006 and 2007, but lost to Jason Bateman
Jason Bateman
Jason Kent Bateman is an American television and film actor. After appearing in several 1980s and 1990s sitcoms including It's Your Move, and The Hogan Family, Bateman came to prominence in the early 2000s for playing Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, for which he won a TV Land, a Golden...
of Arrested Development in 2005, to Steve Carell
Steve Carell
Steven John "Steve" Carell is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office...
of The Office in 2006, and to Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...
of 30 Rock
30 Rock
30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...
in 2007.
The show won the 2002, 2008, and 2009 Humanitas Prize
Humanitas Prize
The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing intended to promote human dignity, meaning, and freedom. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser — also the founder of Paulist Productions — but is generally not seen as specifically directed toward religious...
, an award created for rewarding human dignity, meaning, and freedom. It also won the prestigious Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
.
Ratings
The table below indicates the ratings of Scrubs in the US. "Rank" refers to how well Scrubs rated compared to other television series which aired during primetime hours of the corresponding television season. The television season tends to begin in September, and ends during the May of the following year, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. "Viewers" refers to the average number of viewers for all original episodes, broadcast during the television season in the series' regular timeslot. "Rank" is shown in relation to the total number of series airing on the then-six major English-language networks in a given season. The "season premiere" is the date that the first episode of the season aired, and the "season finale" is the date that the final episode of the season aired.The highest rated episode of Scrubs was the season 2 premiere "My Overkill" which aired on September 26, 2002, and received 22.31 million viewers.
| Network | Season | Episodes | Timeslot (ET Eastern Time Zone The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time... ) |
Original airing | Rank | Viewers (in millions) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | TV season | ||||||
| NBC NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago... |
1 Scrubs (season 1) The first season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on NBC on October 2, 2001 and concluded on May 21, 2002 and consists of 24 episodes. Scrubs was created by Bill Lawrence who wrote the pilot as well as 3 other episodes in the season. Adam Bernstein directed the pilot... |
24 | Tuesday 9:30 pm | October 2, 2001 | May 21, 2002 | 2001–02 | #38 | 11.20 |
| 2 Scrubs (season 2) The second season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on NBC on September 26, 2002 and concluded on April 17, 2003 and consists of 22 episodes. For the second season Neil Flynn was made a series regular. Colin Hay guest starred for the first time... |
22 | Thursday 8:30 pm | September 26, 2002 | April 17, 2003 | 2002–03 | #14 | 15.94 | |
| 3 Scrubs (season 3) The third season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on NBC on October 2, 2003 and concluded on May 4, 2004 and consists of 22 episodes. This season features many fantasies as well as features many well known actors in guest roles such as Scott Foley, Michael J... |
22 | Thursday 8:30 pm Tuesday 9:30 pm |
October 2, 2003 | May 4, 2004 | 2003–04 | #43 | 10.41 | |
| 4 Scrubs (season 4) The fourth season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on NBC on August 31, 2004 and concluded on May 10, 2005 and consists of 25 episodes. Heather Graham guest starred for an extended run for the first 8 episodes, and then another appearance later in the season... |
25 | Tuesday 9:30 pm Tuesday 9:00 pm |
August 31, 2004 | May 10, 2005 | 2004–05 | #88 | 6.90 | |
| 5 Scrubs (season 5) The fifth season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on NBC on January 3, 2006 and concluded on May 16, 2006 and consists of 24 episodes. For the first twelve episodes, two new episodes were broadcast back-to-back every Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. ET. Then NBC returned to... |
24 | Tuesday 9:00 pm Tuesday 9:30 pm |
January 3, 2006 | May 16, 2006 | 2005–06 | #98 | 6.40 | |
| 6 Scrubs (season 6) The sixth season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on NBC on November 30, 2006 and concluded on May 17, 2007 and consists of 22 episodes. The series moved to Thursdays at 9:00 pm as a part of NBC's Comedy Night Done Right. Guest stars in the sixth season included Keri... |
22 | Thursday 9:30 pm | November 30, 2006 | May 17, 2007 | 2006–07 | #87 | 6.41 | |
| 7 Scrubs (season 7) The seventh season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on NBC on October 25, 2007 and concluded on May 8, 2008 and consists of 11 episodes. This was the final season to air on NBC after it was picked up by ABC.... |
11 | Thursday 9:30 pm Thursday 8:30 pm |
October 25, 2007 | May 8, 2008 | 2007–08 | #115 | 6.38 | |
| ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948... |
8 Scrubs (season 8) The eighth season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on ABC on January 6, 2009 and concluded on May 6, 2009 and consists of 18 episodes. The eighth season was the first to be shown on ABC after NBC dropped the series, ending its seven-year run on the network... |
18 | Tuesday 9:00 pm Tuesday 9:30 pm Wednesday 8:00 pm |
January 6, 2009 | May 6, 2009 | 2008–09 | #106 | 5.54 |
| 9 Scrubs (season 9) The ninth and final season of the American comedy-drama television series Scrubs premiered on ABC on December 1, 2009 and concluded on March 17, 2010 and consists of 13 episodes... |
13 | Tuesday 9:00 pm Wednesday 8:00 pm |
December 1, 2009 | March 17, 2010 | 2009–10 | #116 | 3.79 | |
External links
- Scrubs at Disney-ABC Domestic Television
- Scrubs at Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
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