In the wake of the strike settlement, NBC announced that a number of its shows would be returning with all-new episodes in April. Among those shows is the medical comedy, Scrubs, but while fans of the show will be treated to fresh installments in the Spring, a proper send-off to the series is still hanging in the balance.
According to the New York Times, NBC has yet to decide whether or not to order the rest of the episodes that would finish up the final season of show. Originally, 18 episodes had been slated for the season, but only 11 had been completely written before the strike began in November. Six of the 11 eleven have been aired, leaving only five new episodes to be broadcast.
Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertaiment, told The New York Times that while they are reconsidering their plans for the medical comedy, the situation is rather complicated, as the show is owned by the Disney television studio, sister company of another broadcast network ABC.
The exec, however, assures that NBC will soon make its decision on whether or not to order the rest of the episodes for Scrubs‘ final season.
Prior to the strike settlement, Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence told TV Guide that he “would be surprised if NBC didn’t want to figure out a way to end the series on their network.”
Lawrence also said that although they were supposed to write seven more episodes to complete the 18 for the season, he could still provide a resolution with only four or five.
“If somebody told me I’d get to do five more episodes on NBC and end the show in a normal way, I’d be superpsyched, considering all the stuff that has gone on,” Lawrence said. He then painted a picture of what would happen should the network’s decision be undesirable.
“The worst-case scenario is that ABC/Disney lets me make the last four episodes as a DVD,” he said. “And I say that’s the worst-case scenario because I’m going to try as hard as I can to get NBC’s support in finishing the show up on TV.”
-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: NBC, New York Times, TV Guide
(Image Courtesy of NBC)
Staff Columnist, BuddyTV
