In June, it was reported that Aloma Wright, best known as Nurse Laverne Roberts on NBC’s Scrubs, will be returning for the seventh final season of the comedy series. Fans have been wondering as to how the show will bring back Wright, considering her character died towards the end of the sixth season.
Word has spread that Aloma Wright will return to the series as Laverne’s twin sister, Shirley, a single alcoholic who is skeptical of religion. However, Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence recently debunked the claims, telling TV Guide that Wright’s new character will not have any relation to the deceased Sacred Heart nurse.
“She’s coming back as a completely different character [that’s] not related to Laverne in any way,” Lawrence said. “And no one but J.D. [Zach Braff] sees the similarities. And he’s incredulous that no one sees it.”
He also said he is hoping Scrubs fans will not be turned off by this abrupt development in the show.
“It’s just that Aloma’s such a nice woman,” Lawrence explained. “When I thought last year was the last year, we killed her. And then it looked like it suddenly might not be the last year and I didn’t want to rewrite all of those scripts. So I told her, ‘Look, if we come back, I’ll put you back on the show.’ I don’t want to take away anybody’s livelihood. It’s too competitive a time out there. It’s not 100 percent a creative decision as much as there’s only one season left and I can’t take her house payments away. She is a sweet lady.”
Although Aloma Wright admitted to feeling “abused” when her character was killed off for the sake of shaking things up on the series, she is grateful that Lawrence has kept his word.
“I’m glad to know he’s a man of his word and I’ve still got a job,” Wright told Variety in June.
The final season of Scrubs will start airing on Thursday, October 25.
-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: TV Guide, Variety
(Image Courtesy of NBC)
Staff Columnist, BuddyTV
