Josh Bycel Joins Scrubs As Executive Producer/Showrunner

Josh Bycel is joining Scrubs as the show’s new executive producer. Bycel will serve as a showrunner alongside creator Bill Lawrence, who will be busy doing double duty as he launches his new comedy Cougar Town.

Bycel joins the show as it undergoes a major storyline shift. The show is expected to move away from the hospital to a medical school where Donald Faison’s Turk and John C. McGinley’s Dr. Cox will be teaching. As part of the transition, series star Zach Braff is back next season for at least six episodes, while other cast members may make appearances as well. But the show will also be populated by a new cast of interns next season.

Bycel also fills a void left by the departure of executive producers Garrett Donovan and Neil Goldman, who are now running NBC’s new comedy Community with creator Dan Harmon. Bycel will play a major role in that evolution. His credits include Psych, Andy Barker, P.I. and American Dad.

ABC has picked up 18 episodes of Scrubs for next season. The show was originally set to end its run last season and a season finale was produced so it could easily double as a series finale. But ABC Studios and its sister network began talking to Lawrence last spring about ways to keep the show going, including the med school idea.