Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence explains initial resistance to rebooting beloved TV series

‘I’ll live with the consequences,’ he said

Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence has revealed his reasons for being “always hesitant” about a reboot, which is now in development.

The hit US sitcom, which first premiered on ABC in 2001, follows a group of interns and their journey to becoming doctors. Its nine-season run ended in 2010, leaving fans hopeful for a reboot.

Set in the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital, the show centres around medical newbie JD (Zach Braff), as he navigates the ups and downs of modern healthcare while desperately trying to win the approval of his ruthless higher-up Dr Cox (John C McGinley).

“If I thought it was a bad idea, I wouldn’t do it. I’m not chasing commerce and without being self-aggrandising, I don’t need to,” he told the Los Angeles Times.

“Creatively, if somebody said, ‘Do you want to pick Scrubs up right back in the same hospital with the same people on a normal day, everything’s back to normal?’ No, that would be disingenuous to the story. Am I curious and can I think of a bunch of stories about where some of these characters are years later, not being kid interns anymore, and having new young people around them, with the way the medical world has changed — yeah, without a shadow of a doubt. That creative answer was easy.”

Sarah Chalke, Donald Faison, and Zach Braff on Scrubs (ABC)

Earlier this year, it was revealed that while the cast and creators were enthusiastic about the reboot, Lawrence’s contractual obligations were proving to be an obstacle. Lawrence is under an exclusive deal with Warner Bros TV while Scrubs is produced by Disney’s 20th Television.

However, earlier in December, reports suggested that the Emmy winner was developing the show with ABC Studios, according to Variety. Although Lawrence remained under his deal with Warner Bros TV, the studio appeared to be carving out room for him to work with his former Scrubs partners.

“The complicated thing, and why I was always hesitant, was I don’t work for Disney anymore. I work here [Warner Bros.], and it’s not really, business-wise, a show I was allowed to go do. It’s not jerky for Warner Brothers to say, ‘We’re not employing you to go do a Disney show,’” Lawrence said.

“The thing that changed is the cast are all tight in real life and as a lot of us do, at this point in our lives, covet that experience. So [there’s] the amount of friends that [say], ‘Man, it would be fun to have that experience again because we all really loved each other.’ And you connect that directly to a time in Hollywood that not only are we not making a ton of stuff, but people that I really care about and love, both in front of and behind the camera, they’re scrambling, hustling to find work.

Actors Donald Faison and Zach Braff, and executive producer Bill Lawrence of Scrubs in 2008 (Getty Images)

“The best thing for the show is a sad state of affairs, which there are amazing writers that are available. It’s not going to be a mailed-in cash grab. There will be a bunch of the original Scrubs writers on the show; there will also be a bunch of new writers.

“Someone was like, ‘I hope this doesn’t happen.’ That made me incredulous. Like, why the f*** would you care if it happened? He’s like, ‘I just love the show so much, it would tarnish it.’ I don’t think that’s true. Shows that I care about have had reboots.

“This is my attitude: If it’s a show I love, I’m gonna watch it. If it’s great, I’m gonna be super happy. If it’s good, whatever, at least it didn’t offend me. And if it sucks, I’m gonna be super happy to badmouth how much it sucks to my friends. Not on the internet. But that’s how I watch TV. To me, that’s a no-lose. What’s the big deal?

“Not to get way too deep on you, I’ve got my own stuff to work through. You hinted at it before and I would probably, without telling anybody the reasons, just say: I’m doing this just because it’s something that’s important to me for my own stuff. I’ll live with the consequences.”

Left to right: Judy Reyes, John C McGinley, Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke and Ken Jenkins (Getty)

Lawrence confirmed that a deal with a new showrunner was “being made as we speak”, and that writing would begin on the reboot as soon as it is finalised.

In October, Lawrence detailed what he envisioned the new show to look like, with it serving as a combination of a revival (providing updates on original characters after nearly 15 years off screen), and a reboot in which new characters are introduced.