Season 2 of the Scrubs Revival Can’t Happen Without These 3 Missing Favorites

After 16 years on the bench, Scrubs came back to ABC and, against all the usual odds with revivals, actually worked. The nine-episode season didn’t wheel the old cast in for a hollow victory lap; it built the show back around JD, Turk, and Elliot as full-time leads and plugged a new crop of Sacred Heart interns into the ecosystem without breaking what made the series tick. Critics were into it too: the season landed an 89% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and the audience response basically rubber-stamped Bill Lawrence’s call to put the core trio at the center again.

If you missed it, familiar faces showed up at different levels: John C. McGinley did three episodes as a retiring Dr. Cox, Judy Reyes popped in for four as Carla, and both Neil Flynn and Christa Miller turned up as the Janitor and Jordan in guest slots. On the fresh-blood side, the new doctors — including Joel Kim Booster, Jacob Dudman, and others — were integrated into Sacred Heart rather than slapped on top of it, which gave the revival an actual generational arc instead of a nostalgia-only remix.

As for what’s next: there isn’t a formal Season 2 pickup yet, but Lawrence has already mapped out where it would go and made it clear there’s room for characters Season 1 couldn’t squeeze in. Three in particular feel like unfinished business the show needs to address.

The three absences Season 2 should fix (and why)

1. Ken Jenkins as Bob Kelso
   Kelso’s absence was the biggest hole in an otherwise thorough reunion. Lawrence has already said Jenkins, now 85, didn’t appear in Season 1 but is planned for Season 2 if ABC renews the show — which makes him the safest bet to return. Beyond the promise, Kelso matters because of how he balances the series: the gruff cynic who actually understands how a hospital has to function. With JD stepping into a leadership role at Sacred Heart for the first time, there’s no better arena for Kelso’s hard-won pragmatism than across the table from a newly-in-charge JD. That’s drama, comedy, and a reality check all in one.

2. Eliza Coupe as Denise Mahoney
   The revival treated the divisive Season 9 as non-canon, which complicates things for characters introduced in that medical-school pivot. Denise survives that cleanup because she first arrived in Season 8 as an abrasive surgical intern — the tough shell with a very deliberate I-don’t-care vibe — and a surprisingly rich character study. Even though most of her growth played out in Season 9, she can return now without breaking the show’s continuity. Also: the new intern class skews warm and eager. Scrubs has always been sharpest when there’s someone cutting against that grain, and Denise’s blunt, performatively indifferent professionalism would push these rookies in ways JD’s mentorship just doesn’t. Coupe’s comedic timing is a weapon this universe hasn’t used nearly enough.

3. Elizabeth Banks as Kim Briggs
   Kim was a major factor in the later seasons of the original run, getting involved with JD and having a child with him before they ultimately split. That kid, Sam, gets mentioned more than once in the revival, but a nine-episode season doesn’t leave much room to unpack JD’s current family setup. With Sam now a teenager in 2026, there’s a lot to explore: co-parenting dynamics, where JD and Kim stand after his marriage to Elliot, and what a blended family looks like inside a hospital where everybody knows everybody’s history. Banks has the comedic range and the character history to make those conversations pop, and Season 1’s heaviest emotional hits came from exactly that kind of messy domestic crossover. Revisiting Kim through the lens of shared parenthood would add layers to both her and Sam the show hasn’t touched yet.

Bottom line

The revival proved there’s still juice in Sacred Heart when you mix the old guard with the right new energy. If Season 2 happens, bringing back Kelso, Denise, and Kim isn’t just fan service — it plugs real gaps in leadership tension, character contrast, and family stakes. Which one do you want to see walk through those sliding doors first?