‘The Office’ Has This Surprising Connection to ‘Scrubs’
The Office and Scrubs had a bit of overlap in their season runs, but there’s another connection between the two popular TV shows. Eagle-eyed Office fans spotted something interesting in a season 5 episode when Jim and Pam go to the hospital during the company picnic. There’s something very familiar about the setting that gave viewers a bit of déjà vu.
The scene takes place in the ‘Scrubs’ hospital
No, your eyes weren’t deceiving you. When Jim and Pam visit the hospital in The Office Season 5 finale “Company Picnic,” the location has a decidedly familiar feel to it. Jim is seen talking on the phone in the hospital hallway and that is when fans noticed that it’s the same hospital where Scrubs was filmed.
This scene of The Office was shot in the North Hollywood Medical Center, a real hospital that had closed in 1998 and is now demolished. While a number of shows have filmed scenes there, it was famously the location for the first eight seasons of Scrubs’ — Sacred Heart Hospital.
Fans spotted how the hospital hallway in The Office looked eerily familiar and it turns out it’s the Scrubs hospital.
‘The Office’ company picnic
In the fifth season finale of The Office, the employees of the various Dunder Mifflin branches come together for a day of fun, food, and bonding. Michael (Steve Carell) hopes to win back his ex-girlfriend Holly (Amy Ryan) at the event but she arrives with her boyfriend A.J. (Rob Huebel).
Michael and Holly work together to create a sketch during the picnic to show the history of Dunder Mifflin, which gives them the opportunity to reconnect. Their skit, a parody of Slumdog Millionaire, is a strange approach, but on-brand for Holly and Michael. They accidentally reveal that one branch will be closing, much to the surprise of the employees. Michael doesn’t win Holly back but seems assured that they will get together at some point and that he’s in “no rush.”
Meanwhile, things get competitive at the picnic volleyball tournament, where Pam (Jenna Fischer) turns out to be a secret threat in the game. The Scranton branch reaches the final round and faces off against the corporate office. Pam injures her ankle during the game and wants to continue, but Jim takes Pam to get an X-ray at the hospital and Dwight (Rainn Wilson) stalls until they can find out the results of the X-ray and get Pam back in the game they want to win.
‘Scrubs’ fans have seen that setting before
Jim is called into the hospital exam room for an update and the camera captures, without sound, the moment that Jim and Pam are told that she’s pregnant. Jim calls Dwight and gives him the go-ahead to send in the subs for the volleyball game, as he grins about the happy news.
In addition to Scrubs and The Office, the hospital has been used in other shows, including Angel, The Sopranos, Eli Stone, The Forgotten, United States of Tara, Worst Week, Chuck, Parenthood, Childrens Hospital, and the movie The One.
