Zach Braff reflects on friendships and what made making Scrubs 2 with his closest pals special

Zach Braff. Pics/AFP, Instagram, By special Arrangement

Some friendships are built on shared memories; others involve years of perfecting the art of a perfectly timed high-five. When Scrubs returned in February, fans were treated to a generous scoop of nostalgia as Dr John ‘JD' Dorian (Zach Braff) and Dr Christopher Turk (Donald Faison) reunited for their trademark hospital-hallway antics. The medical comedy's revival on JioHotstar brings back the familiar faces while exploring how their lives have evolved since the original series ended in 2010. In a conversation with mid-day, Braff opens up about his off-screen friendship with Faison, what prompted the reunion, how the show has evolved, and why the team wanted to recapture the magic of the original series.

Excerpts from the interview.

What prompted you to return to Scrubs?
Well, we're all still very close friends. We all are in each other's lives. We all go on trips together. We all make each other laugh. Even the show's creator, Bill Lawrence, is one of my best friends. There was a lot of demand for it. Donald and I had done a podcast about the show, which did well. Then we did a whole ad campaign for a phone service provider, and that was also popular. I think the momentum of those two things and us all wanting to do it made [the makers] decide to bring it back. We were just grateful and excited to work together again.

(L-R) Zach Braff as JD and Donald Faison as Turk in ‘Scrubs' (2026)

The show had reached a point where you were repeating jokes and feeling burnt out. The spin-off that followed also didn't work as expected. Why do you think the revival would work now when it didn't work then?
First of all, it's been so many years, and now we have fresh perspectives. If you are telling a new story, you're using the same hospital and the same tone, but you're now telling a story about these people who are in their early 50s, who are at the top of their game as doctors. It's about their relationships now and them being the teachers, not interns. I think the [earlier] spin-off idea was called Scrubs Med School. It was a different concept, whereas this was still going to stay with the same three main characters, but it's about them at this point in their lives. And not only are they going through the drama of life - divorce, depression, and things that happen to people in their 50s. They were also teaching the next generation of young doctors. It seemed like a new and interesting story to tell.

The show catapulted you into the big leagues and gave you opportunities to direct. What does returning to it mean to you emotionally?
I love it. It's the best job in the world. It's hard, challenging, but we laugh all day long. A job where you're hanging out with friends, funny people all day long and cracking each other up is the best. We worked very hard to make the show in five days. It's almost like a marathon to get it all in five days.

The cast of the original ‘Scrubs' (2001)

What was one thing you were careful not to repeat from the show's earlier run?
I think the tone was important. Over the many years Scrubs was on, the comedy got broader and broader. We wanted to reset to have the show based in reality in a real way. That's one main thing we did. The last season of Scrubs became more about the med students than about the three of us. I was barely in it. And I think the concept was, what if we handed the show to the next generation? But the audience wasn't really interested in that. And they did make it clear they were interested in our characters. So we kept the focus on our characters. We brought back a lot of the writers, particularly our head writer, Aseem Batra. We really focused on what worked with the original Scrubs and tried to recapture that magic.

The spin-offs

‘Scrubs: Interns' (2009): A web series consisting of 12 short video episodes released during the eight season
‘Scrubs: Med School' (2009): It shifted the setting to a university medical school and introduced a new generation of students, with original cast members appearing in mentoring or guest roles

Also in his filmography

Zach Braff wrote, directed, and starred in the ‘Garden State' (2004), which won a Grammy Award for its soundtrack. He also directed ‘Wish I Was Here' (2014) and ‘A Good Person' (2023)