Zach Braff became a household name thanks to “Scrubs,” but by the time the show was wrapping up, he and his co-stars were ready to hit the snooze button on their medical comedy careers.
Braff, the guy who made us all chuckle as J.D. from 2001 to 2010, admitted that he and his comedy gang – Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke, Judy Reyes, and Christa Miller – were feeling a bit like overcooked ramen noodles by season 9.
“I miss those days of laughing so hard my abs could have doubled as an emergency flotation device. Laughing so hard every day was part of the gig. But by the time we hit nine seasons, we were kind of running on empty,” Braff, who’s now 49 and still has that infectious laugh, said on the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast on August 13.
“We started recycling jokes like they were old socks. We were working such insane hours that even the Energizer Bunny would’ve called in sick. Our lives outside the show? What life? We were just crispy critters by the end,” he reminisced about his role that earned him three Golden Globe noms and an Emmy nod.
Even though the show’s finale in 2010 felt like the perfect end, Braff’s ready to get the gang back together. “Looking back, and with all this talk of reboots, I’m thinking, ‘Wow, it’d be fantastic to laugh my belly off with these guys again!'” he told Rosenbaum.
Braff spilled the beans on his reboot requirements: “When we first signed on, the contract was so long, it felt like I’d signed up for an eternity of TV. But if there’s a chance to reunite with my old pals for a limited gig? That sounds like a party I’m ready to RSVP to!”
The reboot buzz isn’t just idle chatter. At the 2022 ATX TV Festival, creator Bill Lawrence teased a comeback. “We’re totally doing it — because people actually care,” he declared. “If you get a chance to work with people you actually like, you run to it. It’s the best part of this whole shebang.”
Faison, who played Dr. Chris Turk, was all in too, but with some conditions. “We’d love to work together again, but it can’t be a full season. Maybe a movie or something where we only need to be hilarious for a couple of months. Because, let’s be real, everyone’s got their own stuff going on. And Lawrence? He’s never going to be free again!”
Braff chimed in, “We can’t do anything without the Wonder Kid himself. And with Lawrence knee-deep in ‘Ted Lasso,’ finding time might be a bit tricky. But if he can squeeze us in, I’m all in for some more comedy magic!”
So, stay tuned. The Scrubs reunion might just be on the horizon, and who knows? We might all be laughing together again sooner than you think!