ABC
Dr. Cox made a surprise return in the penultimate episode of the Scrubs revival, which was followed by a heartbreaking reveal about the character’s health.
John C. McGinley’s Dr. Perry Cox appeared in Episode 1 of the Scrubs revival to step away from his role as Chief of Medicine at Sacred Heart Hospital.
While leaving his tenure, he handed the reigns over to former mentee John ‘JD’ Dorian (Zach Braff), thereby setting the wheels in motion for the new series.
But Cox was back in the penultimate Episode 8 of the season – titled ‘My Odds’ – for a sad and unexpected reason. Meaning SPOILERS ahead…
Dr Cox is now a patient in the Scrubs revival
ABC
In the early scenes of the most recent episode, it seems like Cox is simply checking in on JD. But when he keeps appearing, JD starts to question his frequent pop-ins, which is when the character faints.
Turns out, Perry is suffering from an incurable but treatable autoimmune disorder called microscopic polyangiitis, which has made him a patient at Sacred Heart.
Speaking of Cox’s return, McGinley told Deadline: “Every once in a blue moon, he opens up and that sternum cracks, and we see that heart beating underneath. That’s what happens in 108 and the actor got to dive into that; it was on the page, and it was so delicious.
“And we really took our time with that scene with Sarah [Chalke] where he reconciles what could have been some catastrophic teaching mistakes he made.
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“And the scene with Zachy in the third act when I say, ‘Yeah, I want you to be my doctor, I was trying to protect you from this but yes, you’re what I wrought. Now it’s time.’
“I got very upset between ‘action’ and ‘cut,’ organically as the character. It didn’t catch me off guard, but it felt like, okay, I must have been carrying this stuff for a long time.”
John C. McGinley believes Cox will be back “a lot more” in Season 2
ABCDr. Cox and JD in the original iteration of Scrubs
In that same interview with Deadline, McGinley speculated about Perry’s role in any potential sequel, saying: “I think that Cox will come back a lot more in Season 2. There’s been a big outcry, that’s very flattering.
“But I also think structurally… I don’t know if you remember Joe Campbell and his exploration of myth and the structure of myth. I think Zach’s character as the hero in this three-act tale, as it pertains to Joe Campbell, the hero needs consequences and a threat and jeopardy, and without Ken Jenkins and not enough the Janitor, it falls on; the threat would be failure with the interns this season, and that’s great.
“But he needs a threat, he needs consequence. There has to be jeopardy, and that jeopardy is Cox, however [showrunner] Billy [Lawrence] writes it. I think Cox will be more thickly woven into the tapestry of Season 2.”
The Scrubs revival concludes next week. In the meantime you can check out more shows we’re excited about this month, or head here for our list of the best TV shows ever.
