There is something about medical series that we love. It is probably because the structure is really simple, yet effective. Life in the hospital leads to many frictions, which fosters relationships and all kinds of conflicts, and the very nature of the work leads to moments of constant tension, it is impossible for interesting things not to be constantly happening in a hospital. Especially if they are scripted.

But a particular series decided that the medical aspect should be less important than the human part, the relationship between the characters. And that it should also focus on the aspect that no one else did. Where all hospital series were serious and melodramatic dramas, or realistic and pompous, one in particular decided it could be a hilarious light comedy. Its name, Scrubs.

A purely millennial series

Scrubs premiered on October 2, 2001, on NBC under the direction of Bill Lawrence. The premise was simple. Follow the unique perspective of the protagonist and narrator, Dr. John Michael “J.D.” Dorian, who starts the series as a resident doctor and slowly climbs the hospital ladder while coming into conflict with his colleagues and superiors.

That everything is seen from J.D.’s point of view is important for the narrative of the series. With his head in the clouds, prone to fantasizing and considering himself extremely sensitive, this leads him to conceive absurd situations that blur the line with the reality of what is happening. This results in the series having fantastical, completely absurd, and hilarious scenes, accompanied by the reactions and frictions that arise between the characters, who are not always complicit with the sometimes childish attitude of their protagonist.

The series performed very well, even if it was never the most-watched series on television. During its first three seasons, it easily surpassed 10 million viewers, and until its seventh season, it managed to stay above 6 million. Starting from the eighth season, it would drop to just above 5.5 million, and in the ninth season, coinciding with a change of lead character, it would fall below 4 million with its worst audience figures to date.

Concluding on March 17, 2010, on ABC after its cancellation after seven seasons on NBC, where it ended on May 8, 2008, and was rescued by the former for an eighth and ninth season on January 6, 2009, the series accumulated 182 episodes, of which it is considered that at least the first 150 are good, and the first 68 are outstanding.

An unexpected and celebrated return

This has led ABC to decide to give the series a new chance. Something partly unexpected, but on the other hand also predictable. In an era of reboots, remakes, and relaunches, rescuing a beloved and appreciated series by the public seems like a safe bet. Especially when they have decided that Scrubs will not return in the form of a reboot, but will do so exactly as what fans would have wished from the beginning when the network rescued the series: as an eleventh season with the original actors.

The premise of this eleventh season is that J.D. returns to medicine alongside his best friend, Turk, to face the challenges of how the profession has changed over time. Having to take charge of interns, new colleagues, and the challenges of being veteran professionals and middle-aged men, this will not exclude the fact that they will still be the same two good-hearted goofballs with their heads more in the clouds than their feet on the ground.

Although the original creator, Bill Lawrence, is returning, it is not he who is in charge of the series. That role goes to Aseem Batra, who had already worked on the scripts for the eighth season. Everything stays in-house, but it makes us wonder if it will maintain the spirit of the original series.

Because that is the key to the success of this eleventh season. It will know how to be Scrubs for the fans who have been waiting for 16 years and, at the same time, reach a broader new audience. But to know this, we won’t have to wait or make any tricks. The series premieres on Wednesday, February 26, on Disney+, promising to bring back all that millennial humor that we love so much. Because it can’t be that we are disappointed twice.