Note: This is a spoiler-free review of the first four episodes of the Scrubs revival series. The first two episodes will premiere on ABC on Wednesday, February 25, and stream on Hulu on Thursday, February 26.
In an era where it seems easier to count the hit shows that haven’t received a big-budget streaming revival, it was inevitable that Scrubs would make its return. The original series is still beloved by fans, despite that underwhelming final season and its failed attempt to spin off into something new. Those fans needn’t worry about Season 10. The series immediately captures that old magic upon its return, even if it’s not all smooth sailing at Sacred Heart.
Original creator Bill Lawrence and stars Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, and Donald Faison are all back for Season 10, which immediately rectifies the big problem with Season 9. There’s a strong argument to be made that Scrubs simply isn’t Scrubs without the core bromance between Braff’s Dr. John “J.D.” Dorian and Faison’s Dr. Christopher “Turkleton” Turk anchoring each and every episode. The new season wastes as little time as possible before reminding us of how fun these two are together. Their chemistry is just that good.
That’s what’s so immediately striking about the Scrubs revival. It’s as if it hasn’t been 16 years since the series’ cancellation. Sure, everyone has a few extra lines on their faces and a little more gray in their temples, but Braff, Chalke, and Faison have that same youthful energy and charm that characterized the show back in the day. Watching the first episode is like settling in with an old friend who doesn’t mind that you haven’t called or written for the past decade. It’s all good.
For anyone who adored the first eight seasons of the series, this is the epitome of sitcom comfort food. Even with a new showrunner in Aseem Batra, the new Scrubs clearly isn’t out to reinvent any wheels or blaze new trails for medical TV dramas. The series isn’t completely oblivious to the harsh realities of life in a modern American emergency hospital – The Pitt is right there if that’s more your speed – but that all takes a backseat to the camaraderie of the doctors and J.D.’s zany inner life.
Of course, a lot of time has passed, and not everything is like it was back in 2001. That’s where hardcore Scrubs fans may be in for a bit of an adjustment. Some of the series’ core supporting cast also return (most notably Judie Reyes as Turk’s other life partner, Nurse Carla Espinosa, and John C. McGinley as the fiery Dr. Perry Cox), but there are some notable gaps. Perhaps most head-scratching is the absence of Neil Flynn’s Janitor. Between that and the relative lack of focus on Dr. Cox in these first four episodes, the series struggles to fill the void when it comes to antagonists in J.D.’s life. It almost succeeds with the introduction of his new professional rival, Joel Kim Booster’s Dr. Eric Park, but here again, Dr. Park isn’t in the spotlight enough in these first four episodes.
Enter the new batch of medical interns. Sacred Heart is, after all, a teaching hospital at the end of the day, so it’s necessary to introduce a new batch of wide-eyed, ambitious doctors-in-training to take the place once filled by J.D. and friends. There’s certainly an appeal in watching that role reversal play out. But, on the other hand, the shadow of Season 9 still looms large, and there’s the all-important question of whether the newbies can hold their own against the old guard.
The initial verdict is… fine? None of these intern characters are particular standouts in these early episodes, but the show only gives the actors so much to work with. The characters aren’t necessarily shoved in our faces the way Season 9’s new cast was. Most of these interns have one distinguishing characteristic (the handsome one, the British one, the social media-obsessed one) and exist to play the straight people to J.D., Elliott, and Turk more outlandish doctors. Only by Episode 4 does it feel like they’re starting to develop more coherent personalities and foibles.
Luckily, the new season does find plenty of success with Vanessa Bayer’s Sibby, Sacred Heart’s new medical wellness director. Sibby is there to embody the changing culture that has cropped up since the heyday of the original series and put a hard kibosh on Cox’s withering rants and The Todd’s (Robert Maschio) rampant sexual harassment. Bayer gets ample room to shine in these four episodes and quickly emerges as the strongest of the show’s new ensemble cast. Also of note are Michael James Scott and X Mayo as a tag-team nurse duo who help fill the void left by Aloma Wright’s Nurse Laverne.
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