5 Shows to Watch if You Liked ‘Scrubs’
The NBC (and for two seasons ABC) comedy Scrubs has had a resurgence. Stars Zach Braff and Donald Faison host the rewatch podcast Fake Doctors, Real Friends revisiting all nine seasons. They will eventually run out of episodes, and so will you. So if you need another show to watch, here are five that Showbiz Cheat Sheet recommends if you liked Scrubs.
If you liked ‘Scrubs’ consider how funny ‘House’ was
Scrubs was the medical comedy but House was the funniest show on television for eight seasons, and they overlapped from 2004 – 2010. Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) popped Vicodin and broke the rules, but he always figured out what mystery ailment was afflicting the patient.
The hilarity came in the way House condescended to all the lesser intellects surrounding him. And this was a hospital full of doctors, but House was a genius. House is streaming on Prime Video and Peacock.
‘Doogie Howser, M.D.’ was a medical dramedy before ‘Scrubs’
Though billed as a half-hour comedy, Scrubs towed the line between absurd humor and tugging at heartstrings like the best of ER. Decades earlier, Doogiue Howser, M.D. achieved a similar feat, though with a bit less surreal.
Neil Patrick Harris played a teen genius who was able to graduate medical school at 16. So he treated patients while still navigating adolescence. Doogie Howser captured the tonal balance of dramedy and it is streaming on Hulu.
‘Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.’ updates ‘Doogie Howser’
When Disney+ rebooted Doogie Howser, M.D., they gave it a twist. This Doogie is a girl (Peyton Elizabeth Lee). Still a teen medical prodigy, Kamealoha grew up in a world where Doogie Howser was on TV. That’s why her fellow doctors and nurses call her Doogie. Kamealoha works at a hospital in Hawaii but the medical comedy is universal. Season 2 is coming in March to Disney+.
‘MASH’ was the proto-’Scrubs’
There would be no Scrubs if not for MASH. Based on the movie about army medics, the show lasted 11 seasons and its finale was at the time the most watched episode of television ever.
War is hell so Army medics had to maintain a sense of humor to survive the Korean War. MASH was equal parts wartime drama because there was no avoiding the heaviness of some of the treatments they were tasked to give. MASH is streaming on Hulu.
If you liked ‘Scrubs’, creator Bill Lawrence visited ‘Cougar Town’ next
Towards the end of Scrubs’ run, creator Bill Lawrence created another show. Cougar Town starred Courteney Cox as a recently single woman in her 40s. The show began on ABC but then moved to TBS where it lasted six seasons in all.
Cougar Town isn’t as surreal as Scrubs, or as dramatic. But, it definitely has the sensibilities of Lawrence, as Jules (Cox) and her friends invent games to occupy their time and still face the foibles of dating. Cougar Town streams on Hulu.
