‘Scrubs’ (2026) Premiere Recap – This Seems Like A Surprisingly Good Reboot

Let me just get it out of the way: However you want to split hairs regarding whether Scrubs (2026) is Season 8, 9, or 10 of the original series, or whether it’s a completely new thing entirely – which, according to IMDb at least, is the case – there’s only one thing that really matters. Does ABC’s reboot recapture the tone of the show? Does the reboot feel like Scrubs? Is this entire venture worthwhile, or a shameless attempt to leverage the curb appeal of old IP, especially one sullied by a famously maligned sort-of-spin-off that has now, at least, been thoroughly deleted from the canon? Good news, folks. At least in Episodes 1 and 2, this Scrubs feels like the Scrubs you know and love.

And thank goodness for that! Our current climate of endless reboots and remakes hasn’t engendered much faith in the idea of returning to old properties, but this is as respectable an effort as you’re likely to see, from the returning cast, the smart, nostalgic callbacks, and, most importantly, the fundamental vibe. A lot has changed, and we’re going to discuss that, but the most essential elements have stayed reassuringly the same.

The changes do make things tick, though. J.D. has done well for himself working as a concierge doctor in the suburbs, giving him more time to spend with his kids (plural), but not enough to save his marriage to Elliot. After a messy divorce and couples’ counselling, the two are separated and not on the best of terms, which isn’t that big of a deal – until it is.

J.D. returns to Sacred Heart, where Turk, Carla, and Elliot all still work, to tend to one of his patients. But he remains there because Dr. Cox, who is stalking the halls as something of a dinosaur in a world of political correctness, influencers, and sensitivity training that has thoroughly passed him by, decides to step down from his position as Chief of Medicine. And J.D. is his favoured candidate to replace him, overlooking his new protege, Dr. Park, who is sure to become J.D.’s vengeful nemesis over the coming weeks.

Any disappointment about J.D. and Elliot should quickly be assuaged by the storytelling possibilities that open up as a result of it, especially once J.D. has his first proper day as chief in Episode 2 and finds himself torn between appeasing Turk and his ex-wife, all while balancing the books. Things are very frosty between Elliot and J.D. initially, but there are things to work on, and information about the precise nature of the break-up is only coming in dribs and drabs (Elliot ended it; J.D. didn’t have a mistress, despite most of the hospital thinking he did).

But Elliot and J.D.’s marital status has knock-on effects for everyone else, since the core friend group can’t quite operate the way it used to, thanks to the schism down the middle. This doesn’t ruin the dynamic so much as shake it up, leading to meaningful scenes between Elliot and Turk that can only really exist because of their respective relationships with J.D. And J.D.’s new job, not to mention his old one that took him away from Sacred Heart, has also kept him out of the loop, so Turk has had to bear the brunt of an increasingly joyless medical system that has deeply eroded his peppy demeanour. J.D.’s return allows him to start enjoying his job again, but it also allows Scrubs to address some of those systemic issues that are making Turk so miserable.

This is partly related to Dr. Cox’s departure as well, albeit for different reasons. Cox didn’t burn out with the emotional realities of the position, but more from an inability to adapt to a changing climate where he can’t berate interns anymore (among other things). But his handing the reins to J.D. is sweet for long-time fans, because it involves him finally, unceremoniously giving J.D. the approval he always craved from him.

Ultimately, though, Scrubs Episodes 1 and 2 leave J.D. to figure things out for himself at the top of the totem pole. There are a bunch of new interns who we’ll get to know better over the coming episodes – including an influencer (of course!), an overly idealistic British guy, and a handsome dude who learns the harsh consequences of being smug and aloof very quickly – and whom J.D. has to learn to lead, but that’ll mean finding his own style and his own way of doing things, while trying to balance his relationships with Turk and Elliot. But thus far, things are looking surprisingly, reassuringly good.