Scrubs Season 2: Zach Braff Offers Ken Jenkins/Dr. Bob Kelso Update

Posted in: ABC, TV | Tagged: Scrubs

Scrubs Season 2: Zach Braff Offers Ken Jenkins/Dr. Bob Kelso Update

Scrubs star Zach Braff offered an update on Ken Jenkins, who plays fan favorite Dr. Bob Kelso and his season 2 status with the ABC revival.

Published Sat, 26 Sep 2026 09:37:08 -0500
by Tom Chang
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Article Summary

• Scrubs season 2 may still bring back Ken Jenkins as Dr. Bob Kelso, but Zach Braff says the team must respect his age.
• Braff told Deadline they are still working on a Scrubs return for Jenkins, though he admitted it may be a big ask right now.
• Bill Lawrence previously promised Dr. Kelso for next season after his Scrubs revival absence, keeping fans hopeful for season 2.
• Scrubs season 2 also picks up after Dr. Cox’s collapse, with filming ongoing ahead of the ABC premiere on September 30.

When Scrubs made its triumphant return on ABC in February 2026, fans got a mix of the old and the new, with an emphasis on the original core trio of Zach Braff's Dr. John "J.D." Dorian, Sarah Chalke's Dr. Elliot Reid, and Donald Faison's Dr. Christopher Turk, and the new cast of interns, with the original supporting cast taking more of a backseat, with Judy Reyes's Nurse Carla Espinosa being the most active in a recurring capacity. With the series' renewal, season 2 was given 10 episodes, adding to season 1's nine. If that weren't confusing enough in the era of streaming, that's now 11 total seasons, but "What's old is new," as they say. Anyhow, one of the biggest questions for the Bill Lawrence-created series with showrunner Aseem Batra is how the show is going to incorporate the originals as organically as possible without taking away from the newer characters who need the spotlight. At the very least in regard to John C. McGinley's Dr. Perry Cox, Robert Maschio's Dr. "The" Todd Quinlan, Phill Lewis's Dr. Hooch, Christa Miller's Jordan Sullivan, and Neil Flynn's The Janitor, those questions were answered. One name that remains elusive is the former Sacred Heart Chief of Medicine Dr. Bob Kelso, played by Ken Jenkins, who is promised but not officially announced by Lawrence himself, but Braff offered an update about the 86-year-old retired actor to Deadline.

Scrubs Star Zach Braff on Ken Jenkins's Return, We're Working on It

Before the season 1 (or season 10) premiere, Lawrence told Deadline, "Dr. Kelso will be back next year. It just didn't work out this year but it will next year." Kelso retired in season 7, episode 9's "My Dumb Luck," as Bob promoted Dr. Cox to Chief, a position we only saw him have for 35 episodes across seasons 8, 9, and the revival premiere episode, when he recruited J.D., who was under the impression he would work with him again, to take over and guide the next batch of interns at Sacred Heart. At the close of the season 1 revival, we discover Cox was having recurring medical issues, but kept it a secret until he collapsed, and season 2 picks up on his treatment.

On Jenkins's possible return, "The fans want this so much, and I so respect that, we do too, but I think we just also need to be respectful of his age," Braff said. "I'll keep trying, but I think, for currently where he's at, it's a bit of a big ask, I'll just say that." Jenkins's last on-screen role was the 2019 TV movie Girls Weekend, and before that, the Netflix series adaptation A Series of Unfortunate Events in 2018. Season 2 filming still hasn't wrapped, as it's set to finish on October 19th, so we have almost a month to go until we get an official answer, or perhaps it will be saved as a hidden surprise. Scrubs, which also stars Ava Bunn, Vanessa Bayer, Jacob Dudman, David Gridley, Layla Mohammadi, Amanda Morrow, Michael James Scott, Rachel Bilson, Scott Foley, John Higgins,, and Tamera Mowry-Housley, premieres its first two episodes on September 30th and airs Wednesdays on ABC. For more, you can check out the entire interview.

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