'Scrubs' revival — who's back and all about that risky 'Eagle!' ~ AB MAG

Of course,Zach Braff and Donald Faisonwere going to soar in an"Eagle!"flight on ABC's"Scrubs" revival, middle-aged dangers be damned.

Twenty-five years after the original "Scrubs" began on NBC, reunited doctors John "JD" Dorian(Braff)and Christopher Turk(Faison)nostalgically embark on their signature piggyback ride during the two-episode premiere (8 ET/PT Wednesday, Feb. 25, streaming next day on Hulu)."Eagle!" even flies in the trailer.

Naturally, the TV hilarity resulted in a real injury − just not to Braff or Faison, the show's stars and executive producers. The stunt performer standing in for Faison wiped out.

"There was a complication," Faison, 51, says during a joint USA TODAY interview. "He busted his face on the ground."

New 'Scrubs' trailer:See Zach Braff, Donald Faison flying

Zach Braff (on back) and Donald Faison perform "Eagle!" on the first episode of the "Scrubs" revival. One man got hurt.

"That's not really a fake stunt," says Braff, 50, who directed the pilot. "That guy really took a pancake to the ground and hit his head. And he was like, 'I'm ready to go again.' And we're like, 'Dude, you're bleeding. You need stitches. That's it. We got it.' "

But let's give a "Hell, yeah!" for the gung-ho comedy effort. Because if you're going to bring "Scrubs" back, you have to leave real blood on the fake hospital floor.

The aughts-favorite medical comedy created by Bill Lawrence ruled NBC for seven wacky seasons (2001 to 2008), winning a prestigious Peabody Award and earning 17 Emmy Award nominations. The series fizzled on ABC after one season and was canceled in 2010. But viewers stayed loyal and loving, attached to Braff and Faison, the real-life besties at the comedy's center. The stars hosted their pandemic podcast"Fake Doctors, Real Friends"and starred in surprisingly entertainingT-Mobilecommercials.

After years of being asked about when "Scrubs" would be returning, Braff and Faison are finally riding the revival, 16 years after the show's original cancellation. "Scrubs" somehow features the impossibly busy Lawrence as executive producer alongside the comedy maestro of the moment's other hits "Ted Lasso" and "Shrinking."

"Bill is definitely overseeing," says Braff of Lawrence's role. "He is the mentor to everyone involved. Bill is doing so many other shows, but he still weighs in."

Lawrence's first mandate was to keep the heart in the show and the zaniness in check.

"When we finished the show before, we were kind of off the rails," Faison says. "We had a show where Zach was hiding in a backpack."

"The show got pretty crazy," says Braff. "So we all said, let's reground and put it back in reality."

JD (Zach Braff) and Turk (Donald Faison) on the "Scrubs" revival.

The old 'Scrubs' set was a real medical center

The decommissioned North Hollywood Medical Center served as the original set of "Scrubs," which was sometimes too realistic.

"People used to wander into the hospital, and we'd have to tell them, 'This isn't an actual hospital.' It was crazy," says Faison. "It was especially hard to explain since so many people were walking around in scrubs."

The medical center has been converted to condos, so the new series had to start from scratch. Production designers had to painstakingly recreate "a full-scale replica" of Sacred Heart Hospital "inch by inch," says Braff.

After a formative decade on the previous set, the look-alike took some getting used to.

"Doors that used to lead to rooms now open onto a soundstage, the elevators don't work," Faison says. "Your brain remembers one thing, but reality says something else."

Donald Faison (from left), Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke and Judy Reyes in 2001 during the original "Scrubs."

Who returns for the 'Scrubs' revival?

The series reunites Sacred Heart favorites, including Sarah Chalke as Elliot Reid − whose marriage to JD didn't last to the revival. Judy Reyes returns as Carla Espinosa, whose marriage to Turk has endured.

John C. McGinley reappears as the relentlessly intimidating Perry Cox, and then disappears. "Spoiler alert, because you're USA TODAY, Dr. Cox does indeed return," says Braff. Beloved minor characters, like the unhinged orthopedic surgeon Hooch (Phill Lewis), resurface.

But the fresh, young cast is key, including new medical interns likeDashana Trainor(Amanda Morrow) and influencer doctor-wannabeSam Tosh(Ava Bunn).

"The crazy thing about Ava and Amanda is that they were born in 2000," says Braff. "So that means when 'Scrubs' first came out, they were in utero. They weren't even born yet."

"And they have their own language," says "Clueless" star Faison. "It's like when 'Clueless' came out in 1995 and everyone was like, 'What are they saying?' And now I'm like, 'What aretheysaying?' "

It's hard to say goodbye, but fans of these TV shows will have to do just that in 2026. From fantasy epics like Starz's "Outlander" (starring Sam Heughan, left, and Caitriona Balfe, pictured) to talk shows like "The Kelly Clarkson Show" and "Late Night With Stephen Colbert," these 20 shows are ending this year.