We should have known the Scrubs revival would leave us emotionally damaged. Actually, maybe Bill Lawrence knows a therapist or two who could help us out (wink wink, nudge nudge).
**Spoilers ahead for the Season 1 finale of Scrubs, “My Celebration,” streaming now on Hulu**
After introducing some serious health issues for the beloved Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley) in the season’s penultimate episode, the Season 1 finale confirmed that Dr. Cox is going to be in and out of the hospital for a while and under the care of J.D. (Zach Braff), who is deeply worried about his friend and mentor.
For showrunner Aseem Batra, it may not be the best place to leave the fans, but it is the exact type of spot she and the writers wanted to end Season 1 of the revival, as it sets up exploring a new side of the student-teacher dynamic between the two.
“I think it’s an interesting and rich life thing that his whole life, JD just wanted Doctor Cox to let him in, and he probably never thought this is the way that it would happen,” Batra told DECIDER at an Emmy FYC event for the series. “And it may not be the most ideal, but he still has to let him in. So he’s getting his wish, and he’s probably the perfect person to be taking care of him at this point.”
As of the Season 1 finale’s airing on April 15, the series has not been picked up for a Season 2, but the cast and crew are hopeful that they will get to come back and do more with J.D. and Dr. Cox. According to Batra, while J.D. has spent the majority of his career striving to earn Cox’s approval, receiving negative test results that indicate Cox’s treatment isn’t working is the perfect situation to help J.D. focus.
“What’s exciting about it is that you see him make that connection with the mentor he wanted, and the roles flip a little bit, too, so that’s such a rich area for us to write to,” she added of what they’ll explore in Season 2.
For the fans, having Dr. Cox around more in a potential second season is about way more than just getting McGinley’s fan-favorite character in additional episodes. As any true Scrubs fan knows, Dr. Cox is nothing without Jordan (Christa Miller), who also appears in the Season 1 finale, playing the role of the concerned, diligent, but bulldog-esque wife.
The Season 1 finale also features an appearance from The Janitor (Neil Flynn), who returns to Sacred Heart as an ominous presence and one that could wreak havoc on J.D.’s tenure as Chief of Medicine. Turns out, the nice maintenance guy (Darcy Michael) who J.D. has become friends with throughout Season 1 is The Janitor’s son, and he didn’t exactly take kindly to being called a nepo baby.
Batra says welcoming back two actors from the original series for the Season 1 finale was everything she could have ever dreamed and more, especially since Flynn and Miller both locked right into their old characters in no time at all.
“It was so exciting. I mean, I came into this as a fan of the show, too, when I was a young writer, and so I felt the same kind of excitement when Christa Miller and Neil Flynn walked back on set,” Batra said. “I felt the exact same thing when they jumped back into it; it was like no time had passed at all.”
As for the last part of the finale that will need to be addressed in a second season, a.k.a. the burgeoning complex romances between the interns — the finale saw a switch-up as Asher (Jacob Dudman) and Tosh (Ava Bunn) kissed while Amara (Layla Mohammadi) and Blake (David Gridley) seemed to be getting close — Batra said that they wanted to make things as complicated as possible for the new intern class.
“We have been calling it kind of the love square because it’s kind of like we don’t know how that romance is going to shake out, but it’s a lot of people looking at other people, wondering like, ‘Who here is right for me?” she said with a laugh. “We wanted to get a little Gen Z messy with it. That’s what t our inspiration was.”
Who will fall for who moving forward? Will J.D. and Elliot find their way back to each other? And, most importantly, is Dr. Cox going to be okay? Scrubs fans, it’s time to manifest a Season 2.
The first season of the Scrubs revival is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+.
If you’re new to Hulu, you can get started with a 30-day free trial on the streamer’s basic (with ads) plan. After the trial period, you’ll pay $10.99/month. If you want to upgrade to Hulu ad-free, it costs $18.99/month.
If you want to stream even more and save a few bucks a month while you’re at it, we recommend subscribing to one of the Disney+ Bundles, all of which include Hulu. These bundles start at $12.99/month for ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu and goes up to $32.99/month for Disney+, Hulu, and Max, all ad-free.
