Scrubs is a rare success story in the world of franchise reboots, and it has achieved this by avoiding an all-too-common pitfall. The recent revival, also referred to as season 10, returns to the story of Zach Braff’s Dr. John Dorian, 17 years after we last saw him in the infamous season 9. While we all had a natural amount of skepticism as we approached these new episodes, the new Scrubs series has, against all odds, been pretty great.
Unlike most reboots or revivals, Scrubs season 10 feels like a natural return to the TV show that initially ran from 2001 to 2009. The actors and characters are 17 years older, and the modern age naturally means that Sacred Heart Hospital is run a little differently, but watching still feels a bit like going back in time. This rare victory is reflected in Scrubs‘ Rotten Tomatoes scores, which indicate that 90% of critics provided positive reviews. General audiences, who tend to be even harder to please in cases like this, have allowed for an impressive 95% score.
Scrubs season 10’s success is something other franchises should take note of. Bill Lawrence’s medical comedy found the winning recipe. While there are many elements and ingredients that contributed to this, such as an already stellar premise, one of the most valuable is the way Scrubs has meticulously kept its focus where it counts.
Scrubs Season 10 Basically Ignores JD’s Kids & Personal Life
Scrubs season 10 established early on that JD and Elliot have two children together, while Turk and Carla have four daughters. However, we have yet actually to see any of them on screen. This is rather strange, given the norm of nostalgic reboots. These TV shows often spend a significant amount of time catching viewers up on what they missed, introducing the next generation as characters in their own right while exploring how the legacy characters have lived their lives over the last decade or so off-screen. Scrubs has almost entirely skipped over this.
JD’s first son, Sam, was born during the events of Scrubs season 7.
It took only a few moments into the Scrubs revival’s premiere to let viewers know what has changed and what has not since we last saw these characters. From then on, it has been all forward momentum. This allowed the series to keep its focus where it matters. Sure, viewers are bound to be curious about what life as parents and spouses looks like for these characters. However, feeding that curiosity hasn’t worked well for other reboots. Scrubs was much better off resisting the temptation.
Why It Was So Important That Scrubs Stay Focused On Sacred Heart
It’s fun to imagine Turk teaching his teenage daughters how to drive or JD taking his kids school clothes shopping. However, these slices of life aren’t what Scrubs is about. The show’s primary setting has always been Sacred Heart Hospital. It’s a comedic and often emotional look at the industry as a whole, and Scrubs‘ revival needed to reestablish that idea right from the get-go. We are back in this world to see how far JD, Turk, Carla, and Elliot have come as medical professionals. The rest can come later.
Of course, the original Scrubs show spent plenty of time on these characters’ personal lives, and the revival can too. It was just important that the show not dive into that sort of thing too quickly. Now that Scrubs has its legs, the revival can explore JD and his friends’ work-life balance, perhaps introducing their children during a visit to the hospital or other such sequences. The foundation has been laid, ensuring that this revival recaptures the central elements of the original. Now, it can dive into the details. It’s an approach future reboots should take notice of.
