Zach Braff announced on his Facebook page last night that ABC is likely putting the wounded dog Scrubs out of its misery, E! Online reports. Braff wrote the following to his fans:
Many of you have asked, so here it is: it appears that "New Scrubs", "Scrubs 2.0", "Scrubs with new kids", "Scrubbier", "Scrubs without JD" is no more. It was worth a try, but alas… it didn't work. zb
Braff’s announcement is in addition to what reads like final goodbyes and thank yous from the Scrubs writers on their now-quiet Twitter page. Today, series creator Bill Lawrence told E! that Scrubs “hasn't been canceled, we're all just assuming it's over." With no official thud of an axe coming from ABC just yet, a representative for Donald Faison said he could not comment on a cancellation, but is working on a fall CBS pilot. If the show is indeed over, last Thursday’s March 17 episode marks the series finale. We can only assume desperation should ABC hang on to the series for a tenth, life-draining season.
So what went wrong? The series moved to ABC for its eighth season as a midseason replacement in 2009, but surprised many by returning at all for a ninth season—with a whole new look and cast. John C. McGinley and Donald Faison were the only original cast members to return, while Zach Braff’s J.D. appeared for six episodes, and Sarah Chalke returned for four episodes. The show took on a somewhat House-like feel, returning to a med school setting with a bunch of young'n students, causing fans to recoil from the changes and ratings to plummet. With all of the cast already moving on, this feels about time.