‘Scrubs’ stars tease more seasons and Bob Kelso’s return at emotional PaleyFest reunion: ‘Ken Jenkins is...’
After a long wait, 'Scrubs' fans were finally given their long-promised revival. Fortunately, their lucky streak might continue, as the team believes more seasons lie ahead. The declaration was made at the PaleyFest LA event. Executive Producer Bill Lawrence shared during the convention that, if all goes well, he and his team would love to continue the 'Scrubs' world beyond the nine-episode revival. “For us, the cool thing about doing nine episodes was to see if it worked and landed for you,” he said. “Part of the excitement is just making the world bigger and bringing back all the other characters from the show that you haven't gotten to see yet."
Vanessa Bayer, who plays Sibby Wilson in season 10, moderated the Q&A portion of the event and shared that the show's love has just compounded over the years. "A lot of shows have been inspired by it, and we come back, and the reception has been even bigger than the first one," she said. The massive love the series has received since its return may encourage ABC to keep the party going. The show has performed brilliantly on the ratings chart. The premiere pulled in a whopping 11.36 million viewers across platforms in the five days following. This made it the network's biggest comedy episode in well over a year. The reboot is also the biggest debut for any series on streaming this year. All of these are positive signs indicating a renewal.
Fans in attendance were gifted an early look at the revival's finale. The crowd erupted in cheers at the surprise appearance of Christa Miller’s "Jordan" and Neil Flynn’s "Janitor." Both the alums also joined the remaining cast for the reunion panel. Executive Producers Bill Lawrence and Aseem Batra were also present on the stage. The cast claimed that real-life bonds were what encouraged the team to create the revival. “What you can't manufacture is history,” Sarah Chalke, who plays Elliot in the original series and revival, said. “And we have like 25 years.” Lawrence further added that they put their all into ensuring that longtime fans come out satisfied seeing the revival. The EP shared that he and his team would love to come back with more episodes.
The whole gang wants to welcome certain popular characters from the original who couldn't appear in the first season. The biggest name on that list is Ken Jenkins, who played Chief of Medicine Bob Kelso in the original series. Fans were disappointed when news broke that he wouldn't appear in the first season. “Ken Jenkins is older. He's in his 80s. He's super excited to get back here, and we're going to make that happen,” Lawrence said. The series saw original actors like Zach Braff (J.D.), Donald Faison (Turk), Sarah Chalke (Elliot), Judy Reyes (Carla), and John C. McGinley (Dr. Cox) return to Sacred Heart. The revival kicked off with J.D. coming to the facility for a short visit, which extended when Dr. Cox handed him the position of Chief of Medicine. Turk and Carla, both of whom work at Sacred Heart, join JD in his shenanigans, along with a new crop of interns. The season finale is set to air on ABC on April 15.
