‘Scrubs’ Star John C. McGinley On Whether He’ll Be Back for Season 2

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for Season 1, Episode 8 of the “Scrubs” revival, “My Odds,” which aired Wednesday on ABC (and posts Thursday on Hulu).

Physician, heal thyself. Dr. Perry Cox (played by John C. McGinley) hasn’t been seen on the 2026 “Scrubs” revival since the series (Season 10? Season 9?) premiere in February, when he shocked the hospital and viewers by retiring and tapping J.D. (Zach Braff) to replace him as chief of medicine. So when he returned for Episode 8, “My Odds,” viewers knew something was up.

In real life, McGinley has been busy as a star on another Bill Lawrence show, the new HBO Max comedy “Rooster,” starring Steve Carell. But McGinley is still one of the linchpins of “Scrubs,” having been the gruff attending physician who motivated (well, mostly through fear) J.D., Reid (Sarah Chalke) and Turn (Donald Faison) back when they were interns.

Cox always had a chip on his shoulder, but also seemed invincible — and fearless. So when he returns to Sacred Heart in “My Odds” to do some tests, he’s uncharacteristically vulnerable. Sure, Cox is still giving J.D. a hard time — and hanging out with J.D.’s rival, Dr. Park (Joel Kim Booster). But Cox still gave J.D. his job, much to Park’s chagrin, and trusts him more than anyone with his diagnosis.

“Scrubs” is a comedy, but Lawrence’s signature move is to mix that mirth with some well-earned, dramatic moments. And that comes late in this episode, when Cox realizes he is sick — and needs J.D. to figure out a treatment plan.

With just two episodes left of Season 1 (Season 10? Season 9?), “Scrubs” will likely continue the Dr. Cox storyline into next year — and McGinley tells Variety that Lawrence is working out a schedule that will allow him time to do both this show and “Rooster.” That’s good news for fans and for “Scrubs,” as McGinley says “My Odds” may be his favorite episode of “Scrubs” since Season 3’s critically acclaimed “My Screw Up,” in which Cox grieves his brother-in-law (Brendan Fraser), who we learn in a twist has passed away.

Variety spoke to McGinley about “My Odds,” the Bill Lawrence universe and how he hopes to spend more time on “Scrubs” next season.

This is a busy time for you, the Bill Lawrence machine right now is just on fire.

He’s the Norman Lear of his generation. He and Shonda Rhimes. They’re unicorns, man. I don’t even know Shonda, but I think she’s astonishing.

You were busy with “Rooster,’ so you weren’t able to do too much on ‘Scrubs’ this season. What were the logistical challenges in doing both?

Billy made it really clear when he was talking to me about “Rooster” that it would be a conflict with “Scrubs.” And I said, whatever you feel logistically can work, count me in. I don’t want to put the cart before the horse, but I think, God willing, for Season 2 on both of them, schedules will line up so that Dr. Cox can be around “Scrubs” quite a bit more.

What did you think of this storyline, and what does it mean for Dr. Cox to become sick?

It puts him back in the hospital in a patient capacity, which is really interesting to flip it 180 from being the mentor to seeing the people he mentored now have to be his caregivers. That’s a rich landscape for the writers to write.

Do you think this humbles Dr. Cox at all? He’s a little more vulnerable, but he’s still Dr Cox.

I wouldn’t bet on humbled. I don’t know what Billy’s cooking up. This is one of the best half hours of TV next to the Brendan Fraser episode. That’s one of the best half hours we’ve ever done on “Scrubs.”

This feels like a good example of “Scrubs” going from heightened comedy to drama, and back again.

I think that’s Billy’s superpower, because he’s not afraid of it. He’s not afraid to rip open people’s sternums and let you see what’s beating underneath there. Especially with Cox. It reminds me of my favorite episode of “All in the Family” when Archie Bunker gets on that elevator with everybody else on the elevator are people of color. By the end of it, Carol’s holding the baby, and I get a chill. That’s Norman visiting the same real estate that now Billy is not afraid to dive into. For writers, that takes spine.

There are some poignant moments in this episode, particularly when Dr. Cox apologizes to Dr. Reid and admits he could have scared her away from the job. That felt very earned, remembering how much Cox would berate everyone.

I love the verb “to have earned,” because I think Billy leans into having earned those opportunities. Cox, without making it too maudlin, he tells her the truth. It’s great when you tell me the truth, or I tell you the truth. I think people live for it, and we’re not always encouraged to do so, because the landscape is fragile, and when people do it, it’s arresting and it’s earned.

What do you think Cox is thinking at that moment? It seems like he realizes that he walked a really fine line in pushing these interns, where it could have completely backfired and turned these people off medicine.

Yes, and I think we’re brought to those epiphanies when [you have a health scare]. I’ve been in the hospital for a couple of different reasons, and it’s not that big of a jump of the imagination to think, “this might be it.” You start to reconcile things. The human condition starts to reconcile things on the way out the door. If you have those windows of opportunity. Some of your friends and mine just exit, and there are no opportunities to reconcile relationships and accounts. I think Cox is somewhere in there.

The way Billy wrote it, there’s a better than even chance this might be it. And I remember when my father was in hospice, because he was such a strong Irish guy, the hospice caregiver told us, “you got to tell him it’s okay to go. You have to tell your father, you have to voice it that ‘it’s okay to leave, dad.’ It changed my life.”

There’s a chance that Cox’s story will continue into next season. What’s your sense from Bill?

I was just reading one of my favorite guys, Joe Campbell, and I think the protagonist/hero, on his journey, has to have consequences. There has to be jeopardy. I think the writers did a phenomenal job introducing five or six brand new principal characters, but Zach [Braff] is the hero [of this story]. There has to be consequences along the way. There has to be jeopardy. I don’t know if Cox will rise to the same level of a threat to the hero, but just in a traditional structure, Zach needs more Cox.

That’s always been such a complicated relationship. Cox is the person who gave him that job, but he’s also been the chief thorn in his side.

And not only chief thorn, but the chairman of accountability. I think that’s a big deal. You’re held accountable at Variety. And I think Zackie’s JD has to be held accountable.

There was a lot of attention given to the return of Scrubs. And I think the general consensus has been this show managed to seamlessly recapture its tone.

I thought Billy did a great job in the pivot. ABC loves it, and they’ve been amazing. Shooting up in Vancouver has been a dream. The 20,000 square foot space. It’s like the whole hospital from Valley Village [where the original show was filmed] is there. From the tone of the paint to really, you just have to call action and get out of my eye line. It’s heaven up there.