Scrubs

ABC already airs Cougar Town and Modern Family - but the network is about to get even funnier.

On December 1, the revamped version of Scrubs will premiere its ninth season with back-to-back original episodes.

The sitcom will focus on John C. McGinley and Donald Faison's doctors this year, while shifting its setting from a hospital to a medical school.

A week later, Better Off Ted will return to ABC, pairing with Scrubs to form one of the most laugh-filled hours on television.

In real life, Sarah Chalke is pregnant.

When Scrubs returns for a new season, the same will be said for her character Elliot.

Chalke confirmed this week that her pregnancy has been written into the sitcom's ninth season.

"It's kind of a time cut into the future, so J.D. and I are already married and pregnant with our first kid," Chalke told Hollywood 411. "[Producer Bill Lawrence] l was very generous to write it in, so I'm not, like, carrying a giant chart or something in front of my belly all the time."

As previously reported, major changes are in store on Scrubs.

It will return in January with a new cast of medical school students, as Zach Braff is on board for the first six episodes; and John C. McGinley and Donald Faison will be series regulars on which the show focuses.

Hey, as long as the same funny Scrubs quotes are there, we're in!

Thanks to Entertainment Weekly, we can report the following trio of casting scoops...

• Annie Potts (pictured) is coming aboard Two and a Half Men as Judith’s mother, who is newly out of rehab. The guest-starring stint will take place on the October 5 episode.
• Windell Middlebrooks has signed on to Scrubs as one of the medical school’s two security guards. He has very big, Janitor-like shoes to fill.
• No specific casting news for NCIS, but the show is looking for someone to play the  potentially recurring role of Agent Ruiz, an attractive, female jock of a federal agent.

Changes are coming to Scrubs.

When the sitcom returns for its ninth season, Dr. Cox and Dr. Turk will be in charge of a slew of medical school students.

But don't expect to get any more glimpses of Turk's life at home: as of now, Judy Reyes (Carla) will not appear on the show; neither will Sam Lloyd (Ted).

However, there is some good casting news: Korbi Ghosh confirms that Sunny (pictured, Sonal Shah) - last season's intern with, well, a sunny dispostion - will appear as recurring character.

Michael Mosley and Kerry Bishe have landed two starring roles on Scrubs.

Mosley, who guest-starred on The Mentalist last season, will portray Drew, a scruffy and attractive older medical student that is getting his second shot at school after a significant meltdown a decade earlier.

Bishe, meanwhile, will play Lucy, the show's new narrator, according to creator Bill Lawrence. She was most recently seen on Royal Pains.

The character is a 22-year-old first-year medical student. She's beautiful and the first in her family of commercial fishermen to go to college.

Last week, Dave Franco was also cast on the new season. He'll take on the role of Cole.

Yesterday, Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence detailed the new characters that would be featured on the new version of his sitcom.

Today, one of them has been cast.

Dave Franco will be a series regular on the new, medical school version of Scrubs. He'll portray Cole, a 22-year-old student that comes from a rich, entitled family.

Dave is the younger brother of actor James Franco. He's appeared on Privileged and Greek.

For a majority of last season, Scrubs was planning to say goodbye in May. It even aired one of the best finales in recent memory.

But the show received a surprising ninth season pick up, one that forced creator Bill Lawrence to devise a new premise for the sitcom.

With series regulars such as Zach Braff only making the occasional appearance, Lawrence came up with a new plan: Dr. Cox and Dr. Turk would take charge in a new medical school setting.

Earlier this week, Lawrence expounded on his plans for season nine during an interview with TV critic Alan Sepinwall. We've recapped the highlights below:

• The new, uncast female lead, Lucy, will narrate;
• Denise (Eliza Coupe, pictured with Braff) will grow close to Turk;
• A new lecture hall has been constructed on set, in which Cox will often lecture students;
• A year has gone by between the May finale and season nine premiere;
• Lawrence is "trying to find a laconic Bill Murray type of guy who can stand up to Dr. Cox" for the new male lead.

Following a hilarious eighth season, which culminated in a perfect season finale, we were a bit apprehensive when NBC announced another season of Scrubs; one that will feature a slew of new characters.

But we're encouraged by the promotion of Eliza Coupe to series regular. Her intern character of Denise was hilarious this spring.

Who will join Denise, Dr. Cox and Dr. Turk as the main characters this season? NBC sent out a casting notice this week, as it seeks to fill the following key roles for the fall:

• Lucy Tompkins: A 22-year-old first year medical student, quite attractive all-American girl, from a close-knit family of commercial fishermen.
• Drew Suffin: A 30-year-old medical student, scruffy but attractive with sex appeal, and charisma. Similar to Bill Murray.
• Cole McCallister: A 22-year-old medical student, very handsome, charming, conservative, confidently stupid, impeccably-dressed and very entitled. Annoys the heck out of Dr. Cox.

Creator Bill Lawrence has said he wants at least one major name to join the show. Does anyone come to mind for any of these roles?

Dr. Cox will have a new set of students to scream out on season nine of Scrubs. We can't wait.

Hilarious casting news from Scrubs today:

Eliza Coupe, who dominated every scene she was in last season, has been promoted to a series regular on the ABC sitcom.

Series creator Bill Lawrence told Entertainment Weekly that Coupe's hilariously insensitive, icy, horny intern, Denise would play an major part in next season's medical school reboot.

"I really like Eliza," Lawrence said. "I think she's a really interesting actress and we didn't give her a full character [last season]. I think she's hyper-talented."

On season eight of Scrubs, we learned that Denise likes to "bang dudes." What lies ahead for this intern in the fall?

Many changes are coming to Scrubs.

In front of the camera, as previously reported, the sitcom will shift to medical school, with Dr. Cox and Dr. Turk taking over as the main characters.

Behind the camera, meanwhile, the series is getting a new executive producer:

Josh Bycel - whose credits include Psych and American Dad -  will join the show, according to Variety.

Bycel essentially replaces producers Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan, who have moved on to NBC's Community; he'll help oversee the show while creator Bill Lawrence gets the new comedy Cougar Town off the ground.