Zach Braff is back at Sacred Heart, and the aging star claims he’s feeling every bit of his 50 years of age.
The Scrubs reboot premiered on ABC on February 25, 2026, with Braff returning as Dr. John “J.D.” Dorian for the show’s tenth season.
The revival reunites him with Donald Faison and Sarah Chalke, while introducing a new class of interns born around the same year the original show first aired.
Braff claims he did not see that coming.
“I knew that we made the show in 2000, but I’m acting with these 25-year-olds who are brilliant and smart and clever, and then they say they were born in 2000, and it kind of blows your mind,” he told People at the premiere.
“It’s weird when you’re like, ‘What? But you’re my work friend. You weren’t alive when we made the show? It’s weird when you do the math, it doesn’t feel right.”
He added: “To have someone say to me, ‘I was freshly out of the womb when Scrubs started, and now I’m on the show with you,’ was a little surreal. It’s a little like, ‘Wait a second, I’m that old? I’m that old?”
Faison was equally stunned. “By the time I got to the end of the block, I’m already doing wheelies,” he told CNN, comparing slipping back into Turk to riding a bike.
For Faison, 51, the reunion was a long time coming. “This is amazing. I cannot believe that we’re getting to do this again,” he said. “The fact that I’ve been able to make a living as an actor for as long as I have? That’s a feat.”
Sarah Chalke, 49, had the same reaction. She joked to People that “in your mind, you kind of still think you’re 30.”
Recasting The Crew: Scrubs Returns
The revival picks up with J.D. and Turk returning to Sacred Heart as mentors.
Turk is now chief of surgery. J.D. returns as chief of medicine. Elliot runs her own private practice within the hospital.
The returning cast includes Braff, Donald Faison as Turk, Sarah Chalke as Elliot Reid, Judy Reyes as Nurse Carla, and John C. McGinley as Dr. Cox. Robert Maschio and Phill Lewis also return.
The new intern class includes Ava Bunn as Serena, Jacob Dudman as Asher, David Gridley as Blake, Layla Mohammadi as Amara, and Amanda Morrow as Dashana.
Vanessa Bayer joins as Sibby, the hospital’s wellness manager. Joel Kim Booster plays attending physician Dr. Eric Park.
Blake is written as a 35-year-old intern. “One of the things we wanted to focus on is that some people get around to being interns later in life,” Braff told Esquire.
Braff directed the pilot and felt the pressure. “I was nervous directing the pilot. I really wanted to get it right. I think that it was important to set the tone, the back-to-reality basics.” He added: “When we finally locked the pilot and everyone was so excited about it, I felt a big exhale of relief.”
The show streams on Hulu the day after each ABC broadcast. Nine episodes in the first season, with two already available.
It currently holds an 89% critics score and a 100% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The revival also pays tribute to Sam Lloyd, who played Ted Buckland and died in 2020 at 56. A bar in the new season is named Lloyd’s Tavern in his honor.
Is Zach Braff Married?
Zach Braff has never been married. As of 2026 he is publicly single.
His most high-profile relationship was with actress Florence Pugh, who is 21 years younger than himself. They dated from 2019 to 2022.
Pugh later described the online backlash over their age gap as “nasty” in a Vogue interview.
Before Pugh, Braff dated Mandy Moore from 2004 to 2006, model Taylor Bagley from 2009 to 2014, and Shiri Appleby briefly in 2007 and 2008.
Unconfirmed rumors linked him to Drew Barrymore and Rachel Bilson. He has no children.
Is Zach Braff Gay?
Zach Braff is not gay. His dating history is exclusively with women. He has never publicly identified as gay or bisexual.
The question circulates online largely because of his famously close friendship with Donald Faison, which mirrors the J.D. and Turk bromance on Scrubs. The two have leaned into the joke on their podcast Fake Doctors, Real Friends for years.
Braff is straight.
What Is Zach Braff’s Net Worth?
Zach Braff has a net worth of $20 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Most of his wealth came from Scrubs, by Season 7 he was reportedly earning $350,000 per episode.
He wrote, directed, and starred in Garden State in 2004, which won the Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album and the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature.
His highest-grossing film is Oz the Great and Powerful, which earned $493 million globally. He co-hosts the podcast Fake Doctors, Real Friends with Faison.
What Is Zach Braff’s Height?
Zach Braff is 6 feet tall. He was born April 6, 1975, in South Orange, New Jersey.
He graduated from Northwestern University in 1997 with a degree in film. He was diagnosed with OCD at age ten.
He was 26 when Scrubs first aired in 2001, nearly the same age as the interns he is now mentoring in the revival.
