Scrubbing back in

Maybe it's extremely uncool to admit this in a post-Garden State world, but there was a period of time when Scrubs was very, very important to me. Bill Lawrence's single-camera sitcom was a unique blend of dumb network sitcom, medical drama and goofy slapstick, heavy on Family Guy-style cutaways, voiceover, and dream sequences, and absolutely one of the most consistently hilarious and heartfelt shows on television when it debuted. When it debuted is probably pretty important to both the context and the firmament of what made Scrubs what it was, as it debuted just a month after 9/11 in 2001. While I would never go so far as to say that 9/11 made a difference on the tone of Scrubs in any way – the show never delved into current events or politics beyond medicine and insurance issues and related topics like homelessness or opioid addiction – it likely left such an impact on me because of its unapologetic earnestness. The main characters of Scrubs – JD (Zach Braff), Turk (Donald Faison), Elliott (Sarah Chalke), Carla (Judy Reyes), and especially Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley), Janitor (Neil Flynn) and Dr. Kelso (Ken Jenkins) – could be self-absorbed, irritating, abrasive little shits, but every episode of Scrubs boiled down to the inherent goodness and rightness of a situation, and JD and others doing their absolute best to strive toward that goal.

The unabashed earnestness of Scrubs would lead directly to the success and quickly to the backlash for Braff's directorial debut, Garden State, a movie wedged forever in 2004, when it was released and the only moment in time at which it could possibly have existed, let alone thrived. I saw Garden State three times in the theater, listened to its soundtrack many times, and although The Shins did not change my life, Garden State was extremely important to me at the time, like Scrubs before it. Of course, Garden State was entirely the brainchild of Braff, whose subsequent writer-director efforts revealed that he did not quite have the chops of Bill Lawrence. I rewatched the first couple of seasons of Scrubs prior to the debut of its new reboot on ABC/Hulu, fearing that it wouldn't hold up. While there are a good many jokes that are staunchly in 2001 (homophobia, slut shaming, harassment and other things that were just stock in trade at the time), Scrubs holds up remarkably well. It continues to have one of the highest hit rates of any comedy with this staggering volume of jokes and gags, and that earnestness continues to shine through.

It is that earnestness that brought Lawrence his greatest success, as he later created Ted Lasso. Ted Lasso came around at the exact moment that people were craving a cozy show about good people trying their best and loving each other, and we neither need to talk about the backlash to Ted Lasso or the backlash to the backlash to Ted Lasso, as that discourse was beyond tiring before it even began. (I will continue to not be concerned about the upcoming return of Ted Lasso until it gives me reason to be concerned, as life remains far too short to get upset about that sort of thing.) Ted Lasso's DNA is firmly intertwined with Scrubs', and has its roots in Spin City, the first show that Lawrence co-created, where the early seasons showcased maybe the most earnest actor of our lifetime, Michael J. Fox, as a well-intentioned spin doctor doing his best to help run city hall as its deputy mayor.

Lawrence's pedigree as a force in television is close to unparalleled, having created or co-created Spin City, Scrubs, Clone High, the criminally underrated and underseen Cougar Town, Ted Lasso, and Shrinking, another desperately sincere and unrelentingly hilarious show that pulls off the Herculean feat of getting (a spectacularly funny) Harrison Ford to actually give a shit. I'm late to the Shrinking party but have been completely blown away by it. From Scrubs to Ted Lasso to Shrinking, there has probably been no one in television history better than Lawrence at putting forward a blend of charm and heart. That all of his shows are genuinely, consistently funny on top of all that isn't just a magic trick – it's a miracle.

Which brings us to the relaunch of Scrubs, which premiered on Wednesday night. Unlike a lot of revivals, Scrubs begins with a benefit due to Braff, Faison and Chalke all having aged spectacularly well (even if they all have new teeth), so we're not dealing with an uncanny valley situation: these are the same people and the same characters, with 25 years of wear on the tires but each respectively elevated in their field and all dealing with new problems that have been weighing on them. As with all reboots, relaunches and "25 years later" sequels, there is the appropriate amount of lip service to "things aren't like they used to be," such as a hands-on HR person, a TikTok influencer doctor, and a new generation of doctors and nurses, each with their own quirks and anxieties. Lawrence benefits from his recent work on Ted Lasso and Shrinking here, as he's gotten his reps in writing children and 20-somethings despite being a boomer and otherwise subject to all those attendant pitfalls. (And I feel I should remind you that even our beloved The Pitt is doing those same storylines, and often for laughs as well.)

In an inspired bit, Scrubs (2026) even begins with a faux The Pitt sequence as a way to ease us back into JD's flights of fancy. Scrubs has good jokes about getting older and about not growing up, about depression and modern medicine and technology and insurance, but its premiere hits hardest with a completely (say it with me) earnest conversation between Dr. Cox and JD, one that becomes devastating because it took 25 years, both in the show and in real life, to arrive.

JD is largely the same JD, only now (minor spoilers here) he is the boss, with a foil to play off of that is a bit higher on the status scale than Janitor. The kids in the show seem nice enough, and while a couple of them are shining early on, I feel we'll all get a chance to love them soon enough. Even Hooch gets a spectacular cameo! (And the HR lady is played perfectly by Vanessa Bayer, who makes everything better, so she should be in everything.)

The new season is off to a great start, and I've got nothing but confidence in Lawrence, especially as he returns to what is unquestionably his signature show. I hope it gets a good long run, and I hope he continues to shepherd good jokes from his writing team and make sure that no one loses sight of the value of showing your entire ass believing in the good of people. JD sort of sums up the mission statement in the second episode, explaining to a young doc that the world will crush you and that victories are fleeting, but the job is to do as much good as you can in one shift, and then go home. That's what Scrubs has done each episode, and what it will continue to do. Sure, maybe this is a version of "gotta-hear-both-sides" centrism or "ignore the problem" Schumer-ism, but I think there's space for one show that can make you feel a tiny bit better about humanity, if only for 22 minutes. (Okay, two shows, if you count Shrinking.)