Scott Foley Returning To ‘Scrubs’ As Sean In S2 Of Revival

EXCLUSIVE: Cue the “Nobody cares, Sean” memes — Scott Foley is coming back to Scrubs. He will reprise his fan-favorite character Sean Kelly on the upcoming second season of the ABC revival.

Foley’s return is being announced today at D23’s “Scrubs: Scrubbing Back” panel moderated by Foley and featuring series stars/executive producers Zach Braff (John “J.D.” Dorian), Donald Faison (Christopher Turk) and Sarah Chalke (Elliot Reid), along with showrunner/executive producer Aseem Batra.

Deadline can reveal that Foley will be recurring and, in a full-circle moment, Sean will go back to where his journey on the show started, dating Elliot (Chalke).

The duo will be rekindling their romance just as J.D. is embarking on a relationship with Charlie (Rachel Bilson), who was introduced in the Season 1 finale.

“Scott Foley’s back to be love interest for Sarah, and Rachel has been mine; the dynamic with us all together is just hilarious, and we’re having so much fun,” Braff told Deadline.

Added Chalke, “The writers were like, how do we bring back Elliot’s neurosis, and they thought that Scott would be a good way to do that.”

Foley made his Scrubs debut at the end of Season 1, when Sean, a marine biologist and animal trainer at SeaWorld, was admitted to Sacred Heart with Elliot as his doctor. The two had a brief fling before she dumped him.

Sean and Elliot reconnected again in Season 3 and dated for awhile, taking their relationship long-distance when Sean went to New Zealand. Elliot broke things off shortly after Sean returned as her romance with J.D. started to heat up, news Sean did not take well. He eventually moved on with J.D.’s baby mama Kim Briggs (Elizabeth Banks).

Foley had been on Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence’s wish list for the revival for awhile.

“I really want to have Scott Foley back, I want to have him back on the show just so Zach can say ‘Nobody cares, Sean,’” Lawrence said at PaleyFest in April, referring to the famous dismissive line J.D. uses in conversations with Sean on the original show. The catchphrase took on a life of its own and, two decades later, it continues to haunt Foley, with fans using it to respond to any post he puts up on social media.

In a January interview, Foley revealed that Braff had asked him to return in Season 1 of the new Scrubs and that he had been scheduled for an episode but the schedule could not be worked out.

“I’m sure we’ll find the time,” Foley said at the time as he was promoting his Prime Video series It’s Not Like That. The streamer ended up canceling the well received family drama after one season, and Foley’s two-season arc on Will Trent came to an end in May, rendering the Felicity and Scandal alum available.

In Season 2 of Scrubs, J.D., Turk and Elliot have leveled up from interns to icons at Sacred Heart. Now, the respected doctors inspire the next generation while balancing the ups and downs of working in a hospital. Together with characters new and old, they are navigating this next chapter with laughter, heart and some surprises along the way. Foley’s return certainly qualifies as one of the surprises.

In addition to Braff, Faison and Chalke, the Season 2 series regular cast includes Ava Bunn as intern Sam Tosh.

The original series’ creator Bill Lawrence serves as executive producer on the revival via his Doozer Productions alongside the company’s Jeff Ingold and Liza Katzer as well as showrunner Aseem Batra and stars Braff, Faison and Chalke. Scrubs is produced by 20th Television, a part of Disney Television Studios. The series will return to ABC Sept. 30 with a two-episode premiere, airing Wednesday and streaming next day on Hulu.

In addition to Scrubs, Foley has done three other Bill Lawrence series, Cougar Town, Undateable and Whiskey Cavalier. His upcoming movies include Keep Coming Back and August. He is repped by Gersh and Atlas Artists.