“Scrubs” is back.
The hospital comedy series, which premiered on NBC 25 years ago in 2001, returns to ABC and Hulu with a revival season that sees original stars Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke and Judy Reyes returning to Sacred Heart Hospital.
I caught up with the cast at the revival’s red carpet premiere on Monday night at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles. Braff, who plays John Michael “J.D.” Doria, was working as a waiter when he learned he first booked “Scrubs” years ago.
“I wore a beige tunic and served French Vietnamese food and was often yelled at that we didn’t serve bread, and so I was lucky enough to audition six times and get this show and it changed my life,” Braff said.
He admits he never imagined in “1,000 years” that a revival would happen. “I never thought that the demand would continue this many years later and it would still have such a global audience, and it’s crazy that the show just kept going,” Braff said. “In some international countries it’s even bigger than it ever was here.”
Faison, who plays Christopher Turk, auditioned three times for what he remembers was “the hottest pilot of that season.” “I remember being in a restaurant when my agent called me and told me I got it,” he said. “I remember the wait in between when I heard I got until when we started filming and it was such a long wait and I didn’t have that much money at the time and I was like, ‘I need this thing to start going.’ But once it started going, this has been such an amazing ride and I can’t believe we’re back here.”
Chalke and her best friend were coming home from a concert when her audition script was dropped off at her door. “I remember opening the envelope and being like, ‘Oh no, oh no, this is the best thing I’ve ever read, and my audition’s in nine hours,’” said Chalke, who plays Elliot Reid. “I remember reading that script and thinking like it was so groundbreaking and so different. I love the combination that [series creator] Bill Lawrence does with all of his shows. There’s heart and comedy and pathos and hope, and I just remember it was so unique and different than anything I’ve read and I just wanted to be a part of it.
“And then you go through the series of auditions that are like the first one and then the callback with Bill and then the studio and then the network,” Chalke continued. “I remember Bill called me and said, ‘You got the job,’ and I just thought, ‘Oh, my God, I’m so lucky. This is going to be incredible.’ It was life changing.”
Reyes, who plays head nurse Carla Espinosa, said the first day of filming the revival was a “surreal” experience. “They rebuilt the entire hospital in the stages in Vancouver, so it was kind of hard to get my bearings because it was so strange, but other than that it was it was just like going back because knew each other. The crew had more getting used to each other than we do.”
While a second season of the revival has not been given the go-aheard just yet, I asked the cast about possible dream guests stars.
“I want Kate McKinnon to be my patient in an episode,” Chalke said.
What kind of ailment should the former “Saturday Night Live” player suffer from? “I’m actually not a real doctor so I don’t know,” Chalke said. “But it’s got to be something recurring do that she can stay around for awhile.”
Faison would like two of his acting idols to make appearances: “Harrison Ford, because he’s one of the reasons why I’m an actor. It’s him and Denzel [Washington].”
Reyes has few ideas. “I wouldn’t mind a Boris Kodjoe. I wouldn’t mind an Idris Elba. I wouldn’t mind a Bad Bunny,” she said.
I asked Reyes to brainstorm a storyline for the Grammy-winning Super Bowl halftime performer superstar: “This rapper comes to the hospital. Carla’s a huge fan and every time she goes to see him, she can’t treat him because she feels like throwing up.”
Braff pitched the return of former guest star Scott Foley: “He used to play Sarah’s love interest. Scott Foley is one of the funniest straight men ever. A lot of people know this because he’s usually playing the heartthrob somewhere, but I’d love for Scott Foley to come back and be my nemesis again.”
English (US) ·