We rejoin the hero of “Scrubs,” Dr. J.D. Dorian (Zach Braff) as he’s making a cushy living as a concierge doctor — an on-call medical professional who serves the rich, like in the delightfully fluffy 2009-16 USA series “Royal Pains.” Or, as J.D.’s caustic former boss, Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) puts it when they run into each other at the hospital, “your current claim to fame is handing out erections like tiny hot dogs at a bar mitzvah.”
The new “Scrubs” reboot sees J.D. return to the hospital from the original series, Sacred Heart, at the urging of Cox. (It’s a testament to McGinley in this role that he doesn’t lose his edge while also making a touching case for J.D. to do so.) This makes the original core cast, who were interns when we first met them, the grownups in the room: J.D.’s best friend Turk (Donald Faison) is now the chief of surgery, still married to nurse Carla (Judy Reyes) with four kids. J.D.’s love interest from the original, Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke), is a senior doctor.
The original ran on NBC from 2001 to 2008, with an attempted tenth season on ABC following a new class of med school students. It was a fresh revelation upon release, using the then-novel single-camera comedy format — no stage or laugh tracks — to its advantage with rat-a-tat banter and cuts to fantasy sequences that anticipated the likes of “30 Rock” and “Arrested Development.” When I heard that “Scrubs” was rebooting, I wasn’t necessarily surprised — we have rebooted lesser properties — but I was worried that what once made it fresh would make it seem dated now. And I didn’t find myself particularly curious about what the Sacred Heart gang was up to these days.
But this reboot is something of a medical miracle: I found myself charmed and impressed by the way that creator Bill Lawrence has used his mastery of the TV form — since on display in “Ted Lasso” and “Shrinking” — to make a revival that actually feels … revived.
We revisit J.D. and Turk’s aggressively sweet friendship as it faces the strains of middle-aged life, with J.D. navigating the start of a new professional and personal chapter while Turk juggles work, a wife and four children. J.D. and Elliot have to figure out how to work together despite relationship troubles. J.D. also faces a new nemesis in Dr. Park (Joel Kim Booster).
The main cast slips right back into their roles effortlessly, with the chemistry of the original and a long history together that reads on screen. J.D. is an acquired taste with quirks to spare, as he has always been; so if you didn’t like him when he was younger, not much will have changed for you. But it’s a particular pleasure to see Chalke and Reyes in these roles again, with Reyes as commanding as ever and Chalke having grown into her authority.
The new additions have to work extra hard around the edges of all this familiarity. Booster doesn’t get much to do besides glower in the first few episodes, while Vanessa Bayer is a bit overloaded with wackiness as hospital administrator Sibby. The new interns work a little better, with grounded but identifiable personalities that don’t pull too much focus from the OGs.
It’s interesting to consider why this reboot works when so many others have failed so miserably. Perhaps it’s mainly due to the hospital setting, which has often produced TV shows with longevity — “ER” and “Grey’s Anatomy” the most famous among them. Doctors can switch in and out of the stable setting in a realistic way, and young and old can co-mingle. As long as you don’t turn them all over at once, viewers can remain engaged. And, as “Scrubs” shows us here, characters can also return seamlessly while the churn of patients provides dependable short-term storylines.
The new “Scrubs” even handles modernization skillfully. It doesn’t get too heavy-handed about it, but it does address the affordability crisis in healthcare and medication, online doctor reviews, interns who are influencers, clues to a patient’s ailment in his social media feed and a surgery robot. I also love the way the continued focus on J.D. as the main character and narrator means a necessary change in perspective on medical interns, who are now seen through his and Turk’s eyes as impossibly young, whether they’re squabbling, flirting awkwardly, or complaining about other interns dumping patients on them. “Do we look like ‘The Babysitters’ Club’ to you?” one asks Turk. He answers, “Kinda, yeah.”
The fantasy sequences, though a defining trait of the original, feel mostly unnecessary, and occasionally cringey. (Though I laughed out loud at one involving Chewbacca.) Still, this “Scrubs” hits the right combination of nostalgia and update, standing among the few reboots that do justice to their originals without marring their legacy.
“Scrubs” premieres Wednesday, Feb. 25, on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.
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