Scrubs Season 2 Confirms Another OG Character Return 17 Years Later

Published Sep 29, 2026, 9:59 AM EDT

Brennan Klein (he/him) is a senior news writer at Screen Rant, host of the Attack of the Queerwolf podcast, and contributor at Alternate Ending and Horror Press. He has been writing and podcasting about pop culture (especially horror movies) for over a decade at platforms including Blumhouse, Fangoria, Dread Central, The Backlot, and Arrow in the Head.

Another familiar face will be returning to Sacred Heart in Scrubs season 2.

The ABC medical sitcom is a continuation of the 2001 series of the same name, which ran for nine seasons. The reboot kicked off in February 2026 with a nine-episode debut season that featured returning characters J.D. (Zach Braff), Turk (Donald Faison), and Elliot (Sarah Chalke) in the main cast alongside a crop of new stars. Legacy characters who also returned in recurring roles include Carla (Judy Reyes), Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley), Jordan (Christa Miller), The Todd (Robert Maschio), and Janitor (Neil Flynn). Scrubs season 2 was confirmed in April and is set to premiere on September 30.

The series newcomers who were featured in season 1 include Ava Bunn (who is now a series regular in season 2), Joel Kim Booster (who won't be returning), Jacob Dudman, Amanda Morrow, Layla Mohammadi, and David Gridley.

Deadline recently spoke with Scrubs showrunner Aseem Batra, who confirmed that they are planning to have Johnny Kastl return as his recurring character, Doug. While this has not been set in stone, Batra says that “that is my plan... We’ll see how it all shakes up, but we’re writing two more [episodes], and we have him planned in one of those last two.” Kastl circles joining a cast that also includes returning star Scott Foley, reprising his role as Elliot's former love interest Sean Kelly for the first time since 2009.

However, while Doug could potentially appear, one planned return of an original Scrubs cast member has not worked out. The show's creator, Bill Lawrence, had previously said that he expected Ken Jenkins to reprise his series regular role as former Chief of Medicine Dr. Bob Kelso, Batra has now revealed that this will no longer be the case. Below, read her full statement about Jenkins, who is retired (having made his final appearance in two episodes of Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events in 2018) and is now 86 years old.

We all have to remember that when we reboot a show, we have to go with where people are in their lives and in their health and the things that are happening in their life. So it’s not it’s not anything he can control or we can control, it’s just simply the situation. He’s doing great, but let’s all remember that, because we try to bring people back that we love, and it can’t always work with schedules or things happening in people’s lives.

It ultimately remains to be seen if Kastl makes his return to the role of Doug, a hapless intern turned bumbling mortician who was intermittently part of the Brain Trust, a collective of some of the show's wackiest characters, including Janitor, Ted (the late Sam Lloyd), and The Todd. However, he has acted even less recently than Ken Jenkins. 2009, the same year that he made his last of 49 appearances as Doug, so far marks the final time that he appeared onscreen (in six episodes of the Patrick Swayze show The Beast).

Since playing Doug, Kastl has gone on to become an attorney (having studied at University of Iowa College of Law) and was most recently the Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships for Acorn Finance, where he was a founding member.

With this casting update, Batra has confirmed that Scrubs will continue seeking out legacy characters to bring back into the fold. However, the fact that Ava Bunn has been promoted to a series regular (making her the first non-legacy character to be a lead in the new show) reveals that the show still has an eye on maintaining a balance between the returning characters and the crop of new doctors to whom they are passing the torch.

Scrubs season 2 premieres on ABC on Wednesday, September 30 at 8/7C.