What to watch this weekend: Why the new season of ‘Scrubs’ is incredible

Discovered by accident and enjoyed thoroughly. That’s the new season of Scrubs, now streaming on Disney +.

It marks the first new season in more than a decade for the brilliantly strange, dry, heartfelt medical comedy.

There’s no real way to describe Scrubs except to say it remains unlike any other hospital drama ever made. The shenanigans at Sacred Heart Hospital are like an Eet-Sum-Mor biscuit: moreish and very crunchy. Audiences around the world clearly thought so too.

This new nine-episode instalment has lost none of its former charm. If anything, it adds more flavour and nuance.

Season 10 reunites Dr John “J.D.” Dorian and Dr Christopher Turk as they navigate a healthcare system that looks very different from the one they sang, danced and panicked through all those years ago.

Corporate oversight, patient-care quotas and modern hospital bureaucracy have changed everything.

It’s got all the funny and all the charm

One thing hasn’t changed, though: the chemistry between J.D. and Turk. Zach Braff and Donald Faison slip back into those roles effortlessly.

Sarah Chalke reprises her role as Dr Elliot Reid, now divorced from J.D., while Judy Reyes returns as Carla Espinosa, Turk’s wife.

John C McGinley is also back as the sharp-tongued Dr Perry Cox. He may be a little greyer now, but age has done absolutely nothing to soften his brashness.

Neil Flynn’s Janitor and Christa Miller’s Jordan Sullivan also return, with Flynn appearing throughout the season in a recurring role.

The revival introduces a new generation of interns at Sacred Heart, adding a fresh dynamic as older doctors collide with a completely different medical environment.

The new class includes Ava Bunn as Dr Sam Tosh, Jacob Dudman as Dr Asher Green, David Gridley as Dr Blake Lewis, Layla Mohammadi as Dr Amara Hadi, and Amanda Morrow as Dr Dashana Trainor.

They deserve mention because the characters are distinct, well-written and memorable. Scrubs 2.0 blends old and new surprisingly well, and for the most part, the result is exceptional television.

Well, mostly.

One new addition is as irritating as a mosquito buzzing around your ear on a hot summer night.

Vanessa Bayer’s Sibby Wilson, who runs the hospital wellness programme, feels painfully forced. She barges into scenes so often that the character becomes distracting. Whether that is intentional or not remains to be seen.

New character is like a mozzie

Joel Kim Booster also joins the cast as attending physician Dr Kevin Park, although his role still feels somewhat undefined. The jury is still out, there.

Part of what always made Scrubs work was the fantasy sequences, and thankfully, those remain firmly intact. This time they are even bigger, bolder and more absurdly funny.

The show still balances slapstick comedy with emotional depth remarkably well. Underneath the jokes are explorations of insecurity, judgment, stress, relationships and the emotional toll life takes on people. Just like before, the writers understand exactly how to make those moments land, hard and soft at the same time.

If you’ve never watched Scrubs before, do yourself a favour and start from the beginning. Watch every season of the show from its 2001 debut before diving into the revival.

The new season works best when viewed as the continuation of a long-running thread rather than a standalone reboot. Apparently, season 11 is already in the works.

Sacred Heart may have changed a bit in the new season, but J.D. and Turk are still sprinting down hospital corridors and talking nonsense about life like they never left.

And of course, the storage closet is always there… (you’ll know this one if you have watched Scrubs before).

Highly recommended.