Zach Braff is opening up about how the upcoming “Scrubs” revival is honoring the late Sam Lloyd while bringing fans back to Sacred Heart Hospital.
In a new interview with Esquire, Braff revealed that the ABC revival includes a meaningful tribute to Lloyd, who portrayed Ted Buckland for nine seasons on the original series.
“There’s a new bar that we all go to, and we named it Lloyd’s Tavern,” Braff shared. “That was the production designer’s idea, which I thought was beautiful. So there’s a nod to Sam.”
Braff added that the cast is also planning a dedicated tribute episode.
“We love Sam; we miss him. It’s hard to do this show without him,” he said. “And our plan is to most definitely have an episode that is a tribute to him.”
Braff explained that it’s still unclear whether that tribute will appear in the first revival season, which consists of nine episodes, or be saved for a potential second season.
Lloyd died in 2020 due to complications from lung cancer. He was 56.
Zach Braff Leads Returning ‘Scrubs’ Cast Members
Braff returns as J.D., alongside Donald Faison as Dr. Christopher Turk and Sarah Chalke as Dr. Elliot Reid as series regulars. Judy Reyes reprises her role as Nurse Carla Espinosa, while John C. McGinley returns as Dr. Perry Cox in a recurring capacity.
Robert Maschio appears as The Todd, and Phill Lewis guest stars as Hooch.
Two longtime fan favorites — Neil Flynn’s Janitor and Ken Jenkins’ Dr. Bob Kelso — are not currently confirmed for the revival’s initial nine-episode order. Braff explained that their absence is tied to story logistics and timing, not interest.
“The true answer is, if we’re blessed to have a second season, absolutely,” Braff said. “They’re both interested in doing it. But do we have the bandwidth in the first nine episodes to get to it all and service a story that would be worthy of Ken and Neil?”
New Sacred Heart Interns Join ‘Scrubs’ Season 10 Revival
The ABC revival also introduces a new group of Sacred Heart staff and interns.
Vanessa Bayer joins as Sibby, who runs a wellness program for hospital faculty and staff, while Joel Kim Booster plays attending physician Dr. Eric Park.
The incoming intern class includes Ava Bunn as Serena, Jacob Dudman as Asher, David Gridley as Blake, Layla Mohammadi as Amara, and Amanda Morrow as Dashana. Additional recurring roles include Michael James Scott as co-charge nurse, Francois Dubois, and X Mayo as co-charge nurse, Pippa Raymond.
Series creator Bill Lawrence previously told TVLine the revival aims to reflect both the humor of the original series and the realities of modern medicine.
“If I saw two guys in their late 40s or early 50s doing ‘World’s Most Giant Doctor,’ I’d go, ‘What the (expletive) is going on?’” Lawrence said. “To see what that friendship looks like at their age, and take a comedic look at what medicine has become since those kids started out as interns — that’s the goal.”
ABC’s official logline reads: “J.D. and Turk scrub in together for the first time in a long time. Medicine has changed, interns have changed, but their bromance has stood the test of time.”
“Scrubs” premieres Wednesday, February 25, at 8 p.m. ET with back-to-back episodes on ABC. Episodes stream next day on Hulu.
Can’t wait!! Love this show.