In both film and television whenever an adaptation, reboot, or revival is announced, the wait can often be so long that it turns to an endurance test of one’s patience. However, in the case of the upcoming revival of the medical comedy classic Scrubs, it was only July last year that the project was first announced, and even then, the entire cast, both old and new, had not even been confirmed aside from the core trio of Zach Braff, Donald Faison, and Canada’s own Sarah Chalke. Fast forward six months and not only has the show been written and shot, but the revival’s full-length trailer dropped last week, and we are just mere days from the revived Scrubs’ premiere on February 25th.
To be fair, it’s not necessarily surprising that the revival got off the ground so fast, given that the show’s original creator and showrunner, Bill Lawrence, is returning as a producer, while the showrunners of this new era of Scrubs, Tim Hobert and Aseem Batra, had previously served as writers and producers on the show. Add to that the original cast members’ eagerness to return to the show that made their careers, and you have a recipe for a show that can be as productive behind the scenes as it is promising for fans both old and new.
The trailer itself depicts what is clearly an incredibly faithful revival in terms of tone, which means there’s a whole lot of zany antics, mixed with good intentions and moments of earnest emotion. As such, the trailer opens with J.D. (Braff) and Turk (Faison) conversing with members of a marching band in what appears to be the show’s iconic waiting room, with the latter telling them to, “Give us a beat. And throw some stank on it,” with J.D. adding, “Make it nasty,” before dancing to the drumroll, immediately showcasing the onscreen chemistry between the duo that contributed so much to the show’s success.
From there, the trailer is actually rather scattershot in its editing, jumping from one character and situation to the next. That’s not to say the trailer is bad by any means, but rather it tries to do too much as it is fitting in each of the show’s classic beats I mentioned, while showing Elliot (Chalke) converse with Turk’s wife Carla (Judy Reyes), as well as fan-favourite Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) being…well, classic Dr. Cox, which at one point leads to him being chastised by series newcomers and SNL alum Vanessa Bayer, who seems to play an administrative role at Sacred Heart. On that note, if all this wasn’t enough, the trailer tries to show off as many of the new characters as it can, largely intermingled with more bromantic moments between J.D. and Turk, who are now the mentors instead of the mentees.
To be clear, as a longtime fan of Scrubs, I am very excited for the revival and this trailer, messy as it can be, nonetheless conveys the show I know and love, all the while moving forward in a meaningful, logical manner. If the show’s previous seasons (barring season 9) are anything to go off, it is once the show is released and this trailer’s cascade of scenes are allowed to breathe that the true magic will surely reveal itself.