How Many Kids J.D. Has In Scrubs Revival Clarified By Showrunner

The question of how many kids J.D. has in the Scrubs revival hasn’t been answered on the show itself yet, but showrunner Aseem Batra just revealed the truth about this lingering mystery.

After nine seasons on the air (and a network change from NBC to ABC), Scrubs ended in 2010. However, 16 years later, the comedy is back for a revival that disregards the ninth season (due to negative reactions), with J.D. mentioning in the premiere that he has more than one child.

Batra just revealed to TVLine that J.D., played by Zach Braff, has two kids: Sam and Ollie. Sam is already canon to the first eight seasons of Scrubs after Elizabeth Banks’ Kim Briggs gave birth to him in season 7.

It might seem like the existence of Ollie, who was referenced in the most recent episode, doesn’t make sense since the producers and writers have chosen to ignore Scrubs season 9, which included a storyline involving J.D. and Elliot expecting a baby.

However, Batra’s mention of two kids appears to create a new backstory: that Elliot had a baby sometime after the series went off the air.

Fans won’t get to see either child during Scrubs season 10, though, because there just isn’t enough time with only nine episodes. As Batra explained, “In these nine, we had put some in [the scripts] and then ended up cutting for time.”

“In these nine, we had put some in and then ended up cutting for time.”

Also, since the show has been off the air for 16 years, the producers and writers wanted Sacred Heart Hospital to be the primary setting of the revival—at least for now.

Batra noted it was “extremely important” to Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence, who went on to launch the hit Apple TV series Ted Lasso, that the revival “bring people back into this world of the hospital” instead of splitting “between a family show and a medical show.”

“Being able to bring people back into this world of the hospital was extremely important to Bill [Lawrence, who didn’t want to] somehow split between a family show and a medical show. It’s kind of like Everybody Loves Raymond. It’s not about the kids.”

Speaking of the kids and including existing Scrubs characters in the revival, Batra also would “love” to have Banks stop by to play Kim again at some point in the future, along with Elliot’s ex, Sean, played by Scott Foley.

“Both Elizabeth and Scott, we would love, love, love. That’s on our wish list of stuff to do.”

For the time being, Scrubs is focusing on the hospital. While an 11th season hasn’t been ordered by ABC yet, over 11 million viewers tuned in to the two-part premiere across multiple platforms, which is a very promising start.

Reviews for the Scrubs revival have been stellar so far as well, with critics giving the comedy a score of 90% (and audiences a 95%) on Rotten Tomatoes.

Aside from Braff, Scrubs has also brought back Donald Faison as Turk, Sarah Chalke as Elliot, Judy Reyes as Carla and John C. McGinley as Dr. Cox.

Vanessa Bayer, Rachel Bilson, Joel Kim Booster, Jacob Dudman, Ava Bunn, Lisa Gilroy, Neil Flynn, Phill Lewis, David Gridley, X Mayo, Robert Maschio, Amanda Morrow, Layla Mohammadi, Michael James Scott and Andy Ridings are among the new cast members for the revival.

Scrubs airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC.