‘Scrubs’ Stars Judy Reyes and John C. McGinley on Making Up for a “Little Bit of Frustration” Over THAT Season

‘Scrubs’ Stars Judy Reyes and John C. McGinley Were Curious To See Where Their Characters Would Be Now

"I wanted to know the Bill Lawrence of it all."

Collider: It’s so fun to have this show back. When you guys found out that the show was returning, what were your immediate questions, as far as how your characters might evolve or what they might be up to? Did either of you hope for something wild and crazy to be going on with either of them?

JUDY REYES: I surrendered to what it could be, surrendered to what was going to come. The fact that this revival is even happening is pretty miraculous when you consider it. So, I didn’t want to attach myself to anything that I wanted for it. I was very curious to see where they put each person. I pretty much was convinced that Turk and Carla were going to make it. The only thing that would have separated Turk and Carla was if Turk left Carla for J.D. But other than that, I think that they were going to be a solid relationship and that she was going to still be there because Carla is a dedicated nurse down to the core.

JOHN C. McGINLEY: I wanted to know the Bill Lawrence of it all. As long as Billy was in the immediate proximity and the puppet master, then I was in. We had a little bit of frustration with Season 9, and my takeaway was that Scrubs is not Scrubs without Billy. The question was, prior to us starting, what were any apprehensions I had? And it was that I wanted Billy’s connection to be immediate and full.

All of you guys have been busy and you are busy. Were you all only committed to doing this if you all came back? Because I can’t imagine what this would be like to have any of you missing.

REYES: Yeah, that was the idea. That was the vision, to come back at least for a couple of episodes. Scrubs is Scrubs because of the seven of us, including Neil Flynn. So, yeah, that was definitely required in order to be part of it.

Had there been times over the years when you thought the show might come back, and it just didn’t happen, or did things just move really quickly in this particular instance?

McGINLEY: No, it took almost three years from when the rumors started to really percolate to when they realized fruition.

REYES: During or after Covid, Zach [Braff] and Donald [Faison] created their podcast, Fake Doctors, Real Friends, and that’s when it started to really ruminate and to become a real possibility, real conversations, real offers, real scripts, and an actual pilot.

What do you guys most enjoy about working together? Does it feel any different coming back because you’re on set as these characters, but you’re not in the same hospital that you were in before, you have new cast members, and you have a different showrunner. Is it weird to have it feel familiar and yet also be new?

McGINLEY: It didn’t feel weird to me at all.

REYES: It didn’t feel weird. I would agree with familiar, but new. But it didn’t feel weird. It felt completely natural. It was like coming home for the holidays and being with everybody and reusing and retelling the same jokes to each other and snapping on each other and having the same laughs and just expecting the same person to scream, to make a joke, and to giggle. It was all very, very familiar, so it was comfortable. I think it was almost performative for the five new interns for whom we are now the mentors, so that we get to be completely ourselves in our environment, and they get to watch, witness, experience, learn and participate in it.

John, how does it feel to be able to go from calling J.D. Newbie to calling him Oldie now?

McGINLEY: I thought that was a great line. That’s Billy Lawrence. He’s just a stubborn pivot. That’s Hall of Fame Billy Lawrence.

Judy Reyes Thinks Nurse Carla in ‘Scrubs’ and Lieutenant Soto in ‘High Potential’ Would Have Each Other’s Backs

"They'd be like, 'I see you.'"

Judy, if your character from Scrubs met your character from High Potential, either because Carla had a crime she needed solved or because Soto needed a medical procedure done, what do you think they would think of each other?

REYES: Oh, wow! I think they’d be like, “I see you. I see you. I got you. Come here. I want to talk to her.” Two women in charge? They’ve got each other’s backs. It would be like, “Who did that to you? I got you.”

As a viewer, I feel like they’d be both someone you’d want to be friends with.

REYES: Yes, or at least someone that you’re related to where you’re like, “My cousin’s a chief in the police department." "My cousin is a nurse.” That kind of thing, with people who come from the same place, but are different.

I love that we get to see Turk and Carla at home with their daughters. What do you most enjoy about that dynamic? Will we get to see more of that? I would watch a whole show with their family dynamic.

McGINLEY: Right on.

REYES: Yeah, I love that. I love that too. I look forward to more of that. Right now, I think this this season, provided we have a second season, was more about establishing the new relationship and the new dynamic at home and letting everybody know that Turk and Carla have a whole entire existence outside the hospital and that’s what keeps them together. That’s what makes them the most enduring couple on television. Donald likes to say we’re the best couple, the #1 couple on television. They have a full home life, and I think we’ll get to explore that later on. Right now, we’re trying to figure out where everybody is, about 20 years later, in this hospital and how they’re coping and how the interns deal with the mentors.

What is it like for you guys to bear witness to the shenanigans that J.D. and Turk participate in? Does their behavior encourage everyone else? Is it fun to just watch what they get up to? It’s just exactly who they’ve always been.

McGINLEY: Exactly. It’s like breathing air. They are oxygen.

REYES: And they’re really close friends. Obviously, they’re best friends.

McGINLEY: Yeah, that’s not an act.

REYES: It sets the tone for everything from dissing each other, to inspiring each other, to correcting each other, to motivating each other, to improving jokes. Within the relationship, it just works. It’s all of the above. It’s frustrating. It’s funny. It’s expected. You miss it when it’s not around. It both fuels the set and sometimes it slows us down, but it’s the engine of the show.

Dr. Cox Wants J.D. To Be His Successor at ‘Scrubs’ Sacred Heart Hospital

"He's put values in place to function in a really elevated way."

John, to get a little bit more into spoilers, Dr. Cox gets J.D. back in the hospital and doesn’t want to let him leave. He tells him he’s retiring and that he wants him to take over. Why does he want to pass the torch to J.D. and why now? What kind of leader does Dr. Cox want J.D. to be and hope that he will be?

McGINLEY: My children are about to leave home. We’re about to be empty nesters. And while that upsets me, I think we’ve done a really good job with fundamentally putting a value structure in place for both girls where they’re going to be okay. They’re going to make good choices. We have busted our asses to put values in place that will serve them. And that’s almost exactly what I would say about the J.D. character with Cox. He’s put values in place, and expertise and tools that are at his disposal, to function in a really elevated way.

REYES: And just like his kids, J.D. will call when he’s in trouble. Right?

McGINLEY: Hell yeah!

Judy, I really enjoy getting to watch Carla and Elliot together. What do you most enjoy about their friendship? How much fun has it been to find that with Sarah Chalke? I love them together.

REYES: I love them too. I think the fact that both Sarah and I are parents and have moved on as adults raising kids or who have raised our kids, and we’re both in our second relationship, has naturalized our connection and our support of each other on the show. It manifests itself. It shows. Carla is anxious to make sure that her relationship with Elliot is okay, especially since she and J.D. are divorced, and vice versa, so that the couple of Turk and Carla can really hang with J.D. and Elliot without drama. We’re older, but the same. We’re family. We endure. We support each other because that’s what love does, and we’re in the same work environment.

The New ‘Scrubs’ Cast Are Comedy Assassins Who Slay Their Scenes

"I think they're awesome."

How do your characters each feel about the new characters? I love that Dr. Eric Park (Joel Kim Booster) is already trying to stir up trouble. I think there’s something so fun there. How do your characters feel about him and about the new characters that are around?

REYES: I think they’re awesome. I think the new characters are just like the new characters and the guest stars of Scrubs OG. They are comedy assassins, which is something that both Bill Lawrence is committed to and Zach Braff. You bring in people who are really funny, they slay for either a line or a scene, and they leave. They’re there to improv and to make us laugh while we’re watching their coverage, and to elevate the show to keep everybody engaged and interested, both the viewer and us who are working on set. It’s an absolute joy to have all these guest stars come and do their thing, change the environment, bring some humor, and keep it moving, because that’s what ties the show together.

When new people come in, it must be scary for them to join a cast that has been together for so long, and they do a great job. They’re clearly fearless, and they have fun with it.

McGINLEY: They’re very skilled. The five newbies, plus Vanessa [Bayer], are massively skilled.

REYES: They’re talented and really funny. They’re amazing students and really, really great, talented actors.

Scrubs airs on ABC and is available to stream on Hulu.