Scrubs Revival: Ava Bunn and Amanda Morrow Push to Bring Back Season 9 Favorite Dave Franco

Here’s the strange story of Scrubs Season 9 (a.k.a. the infamous Med School era): a season everyone loves to call a mess, but — plot twist — not everything about it was terrible. In fact, a couple of its new characters actually left a mark, and some of the actors who are back in the current revival really wouldn’t mind seeing at least one familiar face show up again.

The Misfit Season: What Even Was Scrubs: Med School?

Here’s what went down: In 2009, Scrubs hit reset with a ninth season that was intended to be a spin-off (new hospital, new interns, old cast drifting in and out), but in the end, it was folded into the official run. The experiment lasted 13 episodes before NBC gave it the axe in 2010. The plan was to pass off narration duties from Zach Braff’s JD to Kerry Bishé’s Dr. Lucy Bennett as the new main character — turning the spotlight to a crop of rookie doctors. The only problem: most fans didn’t want a different show with the old name.

Fast-forward to now. The revival is on, Med School is considered non-canon by most people, and those episodes don’t really matter in the current continuity. Still, there’s a little nostalgia floating around for at least one of the interns from the lost season.

Bunn & Morrow: We Want Dave Franco Back

Enter: Dave Franco, who played Dr. Cole Aaronson, resident obnoxious rich guy/surprisingly fun intern. For all the show’s confusion that year, Franco’s character managed to stand out — intentionally unlikeable at first, but one of the season’s bright spots by the time the lights went out.

Ava Bunn (now playing Dr. Sam Tosh in the revival) recently admitted she was a little sad that Med School is 'kind of being swept under the rug' now. When asked whether Franco might make a comeback, she lit up:

'I'm also like, "What if Dave Franco [came] back?" I'm like, "What if, guys?"'

Then, when Amanda Morrow (Dr. Dashana Trainor) was asked about Franco, she chimed in too:

'I have to say, bring back Dave Franco as well. Would love to spend some time.'

Look, nobody’s saying that Bunn and Morrow have the casting power to will Franco back into the Scrubs universe, but you have to wonder: if two of the current leads are this into the idea, are more people harboring secret Franco fandom? Probably.

Franco Remembers Med School...Fondly?

For what it’s worth, Dave Franco actually seems game — or at least, not opposed. In a recent interview, asked about a potential Scrubs return, Franco answered:

'It's not up to me.'

The man has nothing but good things to say about his time on set, working with the original cast, and even called out that he gets the whole 'Season 9 wasn’t anyone’s favorite' vibe. But he’s not bitter:

'I have a lot of love for that Scrubs world, and I hope all the best for them.'

Of course, Franco’s a much bigger name now. Even if he wanted back in, you’d have to fit it in between the gajillion movie gigs he’s getting. And from a story point of view, the current focus is on the original crew and a new generation of interns — not so much on blast-from-the-past Med School cameos. But hey, never say never.

Could the Comeback Actually Work?

• The timeline rabbit hole: Officially, Season 9 is erased from Scrubs canon. But the revival does keep a couple details — like JD being married to Elliot, and them having a kid — that did happen in Med School.
• How to make Franco fit: Easiest solution is bringing Cole back and just ignoring everything that happened in his arc during Season 9 — since, story-wise, those things never officially happened. He shows up as an old classmate or fellow doctor, and you hand-wave away the past.
• Alternate angle: They could recast Franco as a completely new character, but given how much people actually liked Cole despite the season, that would be a letdown.

If you’re counting — and honestly, who isn’t — Scrubs is now operating in a dual timeline. You can watch Season 9 and then stop, or skip right to the revival; both technically “work.” That means, in a weird loophole-y way, Cole could exist in the current show, just minus all the actual plot baggage of Season 9.

So, in summary: The door isn’t exactly open for Dave Franco’s Cole, but it’s not dead-bolted, either. If ABC renews again, and if Franco's schedule ever lines up, and if they find a story reason, it could actually happen. At the very least, Ava Bunn and Amanda Morrow are rooting for it — and from what I’ve seen, they’re definitely not alone.