Scrubs Season 2 opens with Cox scare and new intern lead

Scrubs opened its second revival season with two episodes on 30 September, putting Dr Cox in medical danger and handing the intern story to Sam Tosh.

The revival, a 30-minute comedy series on ABC, stars Zach Braff, Donald Faison and Sarah Chalke, according to ABC. It first launched back-to-back on Wednesday, 25 February at 8 p.m. ET/PT, as reported by Deadline.

Season 2 starts with Cox front and centre. His former pupils rally to find treatment for his autoimmune condition, Deadline reported ahead of the premiere.

Fans should not expect Cox and Carla in every week. Showrunner Aseem Batra, meaning the executive producer in charge of day-to-day creative decisions, told Deadline that John McGinley will appear in two more episodes beyond the premiere, while Judy Reyes will appear in five to six episodes in total this season.

The reason is geography. McGinley and Reyes are both series regulars, meaning contracted as full-time cast, on shows filming in Los Angeles while Scrubs films in Vancouver.

The gap leaves room for the new interns. Ava Bunn, who plays Sam Tosh, was promoted to series regular for Season 2 and is established as the lead intern. Batra said Tosh will appear in all episodes.

The other interns rotated through the opener. Jacob Dudman, who plays Asher, and Amanda Morrow, who plays Dashana, appeared in both premiere episodes. David Gridley, who plays Blake, and Layla Mohammadi, who plays Amara, appeared in one each.

Two faces from Season 1 have left. Joel Kim Booster departed as a creative decision. X Mayo departed over scheduling, because she was not a series regular and was busy with other projects.

There are fresh arrivals too. John Higgins has joined as Grant, the new Chief Resident, in a recurring role, meaning he returns for multiple episodes but is not full-time cast. Keyla Monterroso Mejia has joined in the same way as Mimi, a surgical nurse. Tamera Mowry-Housley will guest star, meaning a short billed appearance, as Dr Steffie, a paediatric doctor.

Two familiar men are timed for later. Scott Foley’s Sean was not in the premiere and returns in episode 3. The show also plans to bring back Johnny Kastl at the end of Season 2.

For fans, this means a clear handover. Cox and Carla anchor the emotion. Tosh and the interns carry the ward.