Zach Braff Returning for Scrubs Reboot (But What About the Rest of the Cast?)

The Scrubs series revival has officially secured Zach Braff for the cast, but other cast members are still uncertain. Braff starred in the sitcom as John Dorian, or “J.D.” from 2001 to 2010, and now he will reprise the role for a reboot, according to a report by Deadline. The new series will air on ABC, but the network and the studio, 20th Television both declined to comment on this report. This revival has been hit with some serious issues and hurdles, and it still hasn’t gotten an official order. With Braff now onboard as well as original series creator Bill Lawrence, things are looking more optimistic than ever.

A Scrubs revival has been in the works for many months, and securing Braff was one of the most difficult parts, insiders said. The actor wanted the series to film in Los Angeles, while the studio intended to shoot it in Vancouver, Canada instead. The two sides eventually reached an agreement, though it’s not clear what they decided. However, sources said this impasse almost stopped the whole project in its tracks.

The revival had almost as much trouble getting Lawrence onboard, which was also considered essential. Lawrence is under an exclusive overall deal with Warner Bros. TV, so that studio needed to reach terms with 20th Television before he could even work there. Even then, Lawrence won’t actually be showrunning or even writing on Scrubs — he’s just helping to develop the series.

[RELATED: 6 Characters That Need to Return for the Scrubs Reboot]

Still, for many fans, it won’t feel like Scrubs unless some other main characters return as well. Donald Faison played J.D.’s best friend and colleague Christopher Turk throughout the show, while Sarah Chalk played J.D.’s on-again, off-again love interest Elliot Reid. Judy Reyes played Turk’s love interest Carla. For most of the series, the show also starred Neil Flynn as the Janitor, Ken Jenkins as Kelso, and John C. McGinley as Perry Cox. The show underwent a soft reboot in its final season, reducing many main characters to guest stars and introducing a whole cast of new medical interns.

Publicly, Braff and Lawrence have both been optimistic that this Scrubs reboot will make it to the air, but technically the show is still only in development. It will need a series order to get back up and running, regardless of who ends up in the cast. In the meantime, the original run of Scrubs is streaming now on both Peacock and Hulu.