It seems we won't have to wait until 2027 to check back into Sacred Heart Hospital, as ABC will be bringing fans new episodes of Scrubs much sooner than expected.
Given that the Scrubs revival debuted at midseason, the running expectation was that season 2 would arrive sometime in 2027 as part of ABC's midseason lineup. That will not be the case, though, as ABC has announced that Scrubs season 2 will air as part of its fall lineup, meaning fans will be getting new episodes in late 2026!
ABC unveiled its 2026 Fall TV schedule on May 12 and confirmed that Scrubs will be back on the schedule in the fall, a move the network hopes will help the show's momentum continue after it became the No. 1 new comedy this season.
“We love the momentum on Scrubs; it was the No. 1 new comedy on a multiplatform basis, and it was the No. 1 comedy in 18-49 on linear this season, so we want to really keep that show present and top of mind as we head into the fall," Ari Goldman, SVP, Content Strategy and Scheduling for ABC, said of the decision.
Scrubs will be paired with fellow returning comedy Abbott Elementary on Wednesday nights to give ABC its sole comedy block of the fall season.
Now that we've gotten to the good news about Scrubs season 2, it's time to get to the bad news. In moving Scrubs to the fall lineup, ABC will be moving Shifting Gears back to midseason. This means that Shifting Gears fans are in for a much longer hiatus than planned, as the show will not return until 2027.
And this is where the bad news circles back to Scrubs.
While ABC will be airing Scrubs season 2 in the fall alongside Abbott Elementary, the show's second season will not be getting a larger episode order. Season 2 will consist of 10 episodes, which is up from the show's nine-episode first season, but it is shy of a more standard 13-episode order. The plan seems to be for Scrubs season 2 to air in the fall before Shifting Gears season 3 comes off the bench to join Abbott Elementary in 2027 at midseason.
It's certainly disappointing that season 2 of Scrubs will only be 10 episodes, but the move makes sense for ABC given it will only have three comedies in the mix, with Abbott Elementary the only one in the bunch that is expected to have a longer season. Still, at least we won't have to wait until 2027 for the next season of Scrubs and can look forward to J.D., Turk, and Elliott returning this fall!
