Scrubs (stylized as [scrubs]) is an American medical sitcom created by Bill Lawrence. The series follows the lives of employees at the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital, which is a teaching hospital. The title is a play on surgical scrubs and a term for a low-ranking person because at the beginning of the series, most of the main characters are medical interns.
The series is noted for its fast-paced slapstick and surreal vignettes presented mostly as the daydreams of the central character and narrator, John "J.D." Dorian, played by Zach Braff. The main cast for seasons one through eight consisted of Braff, Sarah Chalke, Donald Faison, Ken Jenkins, John C. McGinley, and Judy Reyes. Recurring cast member Neil Flynn joined the main cast in season two. The series featured multiple guest appearances by film actors, such as Brendan Fraser, Heather Graham, Michael J. Fox, and Colin Farrell.
Scrubs aired in its original format between October 2001 and May 2009—switching from its original network NBC to ABC in January 2009—with the season eight episodes "My Finale" conceived and filmed as a series finale. The ninth season, which aired on ABC between December 2009 and March 2010, moved the setting to a medical school and introduced new regular cast members Kerry Bishé, Dave Franco, and Michael Mosley, with Bishé becoming the show's new narrator, and season 8 recurring cast member Eliza Coupe promoted to main cast. Braff, Faison, and McGinley remained regular cast members, and others made guest appearances. This version of the show was canceled in May 2010.
The series received critical acclaim throughout its run and earned 17 Emmy Award nominations, including two for Outstanding Comedy Series. It also received a Peabody Award in 2006.
The series was revived by ABC in 2025, with the revival series premiering in February 2026.
Overview Scrubs focuses on the unique point of view of its main character and narrator, Dr. John Michael "J.D." Dorian (Zach Braff), with the exception of season nine being narrated by the new main character Lucy Bennett (Kerry Bishé). Most episodes feature multiple story lines thematically linked by voice-overs done by Braff, as well as the comical daydreams of J.D. According to Bill Lawrence, "What we decided was, rather than have it be a monotone narration, if it's going to be Zach's voice, we're going to do everything through J.D.'s eyes. It opened up a visual medium that those of us as comedy writers were not used to." Actors were given the chance to improvise their lines on set with encouragement by series creator Bill Lawrence, with Neil Flynn and Zach Braff being the main improvisors.
Almost every episode title for the first eight seasons begins with the word "My". Bill Lawrence says this is because each episode is J.D. writing in his diary (revealed in the commentary on the DVD of the first-season episode "My Hero"). A few episodes from seasons 2–8 are told from another character's perspective and have episode titles such as "His Story" or "Her Story". Apart from a brief period of narration from J.D. at the beginning and the end, these episodes primarily contain internal narration from other characters besides J.D. The transfer of the narration duties usually occurs at a moment of physical contact between two characters. In season nine, the episode titles start with "Our..." as the focus for that season shifted from the perspective of J.D. to a new group of medical students. The webisodes that accompanied season eight, Scrubs: Interns, also were named "Our...".
Cast and characters
For the first season, the series featured six main cast members, with recurring cast member Neil Flynn added as a seventh member in the second season, and numerous other characters recurring throughout the course of the series. In the ninth season, many of the original cast left as main cast members (with the exceptions of Zach Braff, Donald Faison, and John C. McGinley), while four new additions were made to the main cast for that season only.
Zach Braff as John Michael "J.D." Dorian, the show's protagonist and narrator. J.D. is a young physician, who begins the series as an intern. His voice-over to the series comes from his internal thoughts and often features surreal fantasies. J.D. describes himself as a "sensi", short for "sensitive guy", enjoying acoustic alternative music and being a lover of hugs. Over the course of the series, J.D. rises through the ranks of the hospital before leaving Sacred Heart to become the Residency Director at St. Vincent Hospital, before briefly returning to become a teacher at Winston University. J.D. has a son, Sam with ex-girlfriend Kim Briggs and another son, Ollie with Elliot Reid. Sarah Chalke as Elliot Reid (seasons 1–8, recurring season 9), another intern and later private-practice physician. Her relationship with J.D. becomes romantic on several occasions throughout the series, resulting in them eventually marrying and having a son, Ollie together. The marriage ends up not lasting. As the series progresses, despite an initial dislike of each other, she becomes friends with Carla. Elliot is driven by a neurotic desire to prove her worth to her family (in which all of the males are doctors), her peers, and herself. She is described as extremely book-smart while her social abilities are somewhat lacking. Her social skills develop throughout the seasons. Donald Faison as Christopher Turk, J.D.'s best friend and surgeon, who rises from intern to chief of surgery as the series progresses. Turk and J.D. were roommates when they attended the College of William and Mary, as well as in medical school, and the two have an extremely close relationship. Turk is highly driven and competitive while always remaining loyal. During the course of the series, Turk forms a relationship with Carla; they start dating early in the series, then get married, and eventually start a family together, having four children. In season nine, he is a teacher at Winston University while continuing his duties as chief of surgery. Ken Jenkins as Bob Kelso (seasons 1–8, recurring season 9), Sacred Heart's chief of medicine for the first seven seasons, after which he retires; in season nine, he becomes a teacher at Winston University. While chief of medicine, Kelso is seen to be selfish, intimidating, and mean-spirited, driven primarily by the hospital's bottom line rather than the well-being of patients. It is occasionally suggested that he has a softer side, and that his meanness is a means of coping with the years of hard decisions. After his retirement in season seven, his relationship with staff at the hospital improves, becoming a regular at the hospital's coffee shop where he is entitled to "free muffins for life". He is married with a son and regularly comments on the poor state of his marriage and the activities of his homosexual son. In season nine, after the death of his wife, Kelso becomes a teacher at Winston University along with J.D., Cox, and Turk. John C. McGinley as Perry Cox, an attending physician who becomes the chief of medicine at Sacred Heart in season eight. J.D. considers Cox his mentor, despite the fact that Cox routinely criticizes him, patronizes him, and calls him female names. Cox frequently suggests that this cruel treatment is intended as conditioning for the rigors of hospital life. On rare occasions, he expresses grudging admiration and even pride at J.D.'s accomplishments. Dr. Cox is dedicated to the welfare of his patients and frequently expresses concern for them, leading to frequent arguments with Bob Kelso. In season nine, he is seen working as a professor at Winston University while continuing his duties as chief of medicine. Judy Reyes as Carla Espinosa (seasons 1–8), the hospital's head nurse. Carla is opinionated, stubborn, and domineering, but continually caring, acting as a mother figure to interns, supporting them and sticking up for them when they make mistakes. During the course of the series, Turk forms a relationship with Carla; they start dating in the first episode of the series, then get married, and eventually start a family together. She is very close to J.D., affectionately calling him "Bambi", and despite initially disliking each other, also becomes close friends with Elliot. Neil Flynn as the "Janitor" (recurring season 1, main cast seasons 2–8, guest star season 9), the hospital's custodian. An incident in the pilot episode establishes an antagonistic relationship between J.D. and him, which persists throughout the series. This tends to take the form of the Janitor pulling abusive pranks on J.D., although he has shown, several times throughout the series, that he has a good side. The Janitor's real name is not mentioned until the season eight finale when he reveals to J.D. that he is called "Glenn Matthews". Immediately thereafter, a hospital staff member walks by and calls him "Tommy". Eliza Coupe as Denise "Jo" Mahoney (recurring season 8, main cast season 9), an intern at Sacred Heart Hospital in season eight. She is outspoken and brutally honest, and struggles with patient-doctor communications because of this. In season nine, she is a resident at the new Sacred Heart Hospital, as well as a student adviser and teacher's assistant at Winston University. She is romantically involved with medical student Drew Suffin. Kerry Bishé as Lucy Bennett (season 9), a medical student at Winston University. She is the protagonist of season nine, initially sharing the narrating duties of the show with J.D. before taking over completely. She, like J.D., also has surreal fantasies. She loves horses and is romantically involved with a fellow student, Cole Aaronson. Michael Mosley as Drew Suffin (season 9), a medical student at Winston University. Though few details are ever given, Drew's dark past is often alluded to, including a previous burn-out at medical school. He is in a relationship with Denise Mahoney. Dave Franco as Cole Aaronson (season 9), an arrogant medical student at Winston University whose family donated a large amount of money to get the new Sacred Heart Hospital built and as such, believes that he is untouchable. After being diagnosed with skin cancer and subsequently going into remission after successful surgery, Cole rethinks his life and decides to specialize in surgery. He is in a relationship with Lucy Bennett.
Episodes
The first season introduces John Michael "J.D." Dorian and his best friend Christopher Turk in their first year out of medical school as interns at Sacred Heart Hospital. J.D. meets his reluctant mentor Perry Cox; an attractive female intern named Elliot, on whom he develops a crush; the hospital's janitor, who goes out of his way to make J.D.'s life difficult; Chief of Medicine Dr. Bob Kelso, who is more concerned about the budget than the patients; and Carla Espinosa, the head nurse who eventually becomes Turk's girlfriend. The characters face romance and relationship issues, family obligations, overwhelming paperwork, long shifts, dealing with death of patients, and conflicting pressures from senior doctors.
The second season follows J.D.'s second year practicing medicine at Sacred Heart where Elliot, Turk, and he are now residents. As the season develops, money issues affect the three of them, especially Elliot, whose dad cut her off. J.D.'s older brother Dan (Tom Cavanagh) comes to visit, as does Turk's brother Kevin (D. L. Hughley). Season two focuses on the romantic relationships of the main characters: Turk proposes to an indecisive Carla, who has doubts about if Turk is mature enough; Elliot dates nurse Paul Flowers (Rick Schroder); and Dr. Cox dates pharmaceutical rep Julie (Heather Locklear) before reigniting a relationship with his pregnant ex-wife Jordan (Christa Miller). J.D., meanwhile, attempts a relationship with Elliot, and later falls for Jamie (Amy Smart), the wife of one of his coma patients.