The first two episodes of Scrubs season two have arrived, and they are asking the show’s three leads to grow up — fast. J.D., Turk and Elliot are all facing midlife crises, and the premiere wastes no time showing it.
J.D. (Zach Braff) is struggling to find a treatment that helps Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) make real progress with his autoimmune condition. Elliot (Sarah Chalke) feels lost, seeing too much of her younger self in Tosh (newly promoted series regular Ava Bunn) as Tosh chooses a specialty. Turk (Donald Faison) is losing confidence in his surgical skills and wonders if he is giving too much of himself to work and not enough to his wife, Carla (Judy Reyes), and their daughters.
The Big Three’s Crises
Showrunner Aseem Batra told The Hollywood Reporter that the season will keep exploring these ideas while giving more room to Tosh and the interns. Season two runs 10 episodes, one more than the prior season, which Batra says helps despite the bigger cast.
“We have one extra [episode], but we also have a big cast, so we have more challenges,” Batra said. “We’re doing our best to try and give story time to everyone.”
Comedy Still Matters
The premiere is not all gloom. Scrubs is a comedy, and it delivers goofy moments, including a cutaway evoking the Power Rangers. J.D. is moving forward with Charlie (returning guest star Rachel Bilson). Tosh and Asher (Jacob Dudman) are continuing their budding relationship, with HR rep Sibby (Vanessa Bayer) trying to figure out who is dating whom.
One standout line: When Sibby asks if J.D. and Turk are a couple, J.D. responds, “You don’t have the form for what we are.”
Elliot’s Big Question
Elliot’s crisis is personal. Her ex-husband is chief of medicine. Her best friend, Turk, is chief of surgery. That puts her in a position of leadership, and she is questioning what comes next.
“For Elliot, it’s like, what now?” Batra said. “Her ex-husband is chief of medicine. Her other best friend, Turk, is chief of surgery, and it makes her question, What do I want next? Where do I fit in, in terms of leadership and taking the next step?”
J.D.’s Romance and Doubt
J.D. is having a fun time with Charlie, but that romance raises questions about his future. Batra described J.D. as having “a fun, rompy time with romance, but it’s leading him to also question what that is going to look like for him.”
There is also professional doubt. J.D. can know everything in the book, but when someone he cares about is sick, he questions whether he is objective enough to handle it.
Turk’s Domestic Side
Turk’s crisis touches both his family and his work. He is wondering if he is giving too much of himself to his job and not enough to Carla and their daughters. Batra confirmed that Turk’s mental and emotional health as a physician were set up in season one.
“In a shorter season, it’s hard to do too much of it,” Batra said. “But we know that people want to see them as parents, and we want to show them as parents.”
The team just finished filming something in that area, and Batra said it will be “very interesting for fans to get a chance to glimpse them as parents.”
The Interns Get More Space
Ava Bunn has been moved up to the regular cast, and she gets the most story among the interns in these first two episodes. Batra said the goal is to give each intern a chance to have more of a story or moment in each episode.
“We want to be able to, rather than just have them have a line or two in an episode, give each of them a chance to have more of a story or more of a moment in each episode,” Batra said.
The show also introduced John Higgins as Grant, a resident who brings a great level of comedy for J.D., who finds him very frustrating to deal with. Batra described the dynamic as reminiscent of the frustration Cox felt toward J.D., but in a different way.
“Grant just brings out J.D.’s neediness,” Batra said. “He was so needy with Dr. Cox — ‘mentor me’ — and now he’s a little needy with Grant: ‘See my point of view.’ It’s just fun for us to play.”
Scott Foley Returns
Scott Foley is coming back as Sean, one of Elliot’s exes. He appears in episode three, unless anything changes.
“He’s in episode three, unless anything changes,” Batra said. “It’s a lot of fun for us to see the old dynamic between him and J.D. again, and what emotions he brings out in Elliot. It just felt like going home to see him at the table read and doing his thing. He was a big part of the first Scrubs, so it just felt great to have him again.”
Balancing J.D.’s Growth
J.D. gets hit from above and below, struggling with Dr. Cox’s treatment and not vibing at all with Grant. Batra said the writers are looking to work with Zach’s character and ride the line between him being the goof he’s always been and a leader at the hospital.
“It’s an interesting balance because we have to keep some of the stuff that was always J.D.,” Batra said. “He always wants to be liked. That’s not going to drive him quite as much, but that doesn’t go away. Some of the ways we wanted to grow him up are in his dynamic with Elliot, how he looks at relationships. He might still fall back into patterns of being a little extra when it comes to love. But he’s also mature enough to know how to do the right thing now.”
What To Watch For
The premiere sets up a season of growth for the leads while giving the interns more room to breathe. The show is balancing genuine grown-up anxiety with its signature silly cutaways and jokes.
Batra’s promise of more breathing room for the interns is a good sign for the season ahead. The show has one more episode than last season, and that extra space could help the writers slow down and let the audience get to know the interns better.
Key Facts Box
– Season two runs 10 episodes, one more than the prior season
– Episodes premiered Wednesday
– Ava Bunn has been moved up to the regular cast
– Scott Foley returns in episode three as Sean
– John Higgins joins as Grant, a resident
The premiere proves that Scrubs can still juggle midlife crises and Power Rangers cutaways without losing its heart. The leads are growing up, the interns are getting more airtime, and the show is still finding ways to make us laugh.
Source material: “‘Scrubs’ Begins Season 2 With Midlife Crises for Everyone,” The Hollywood Reporter.
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