Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley is baking in near triple-digit September temperatures, and a blinding morning sun pours in through all the windows of the scruffy former hospital that houses the production offices and sets of NBC’s medical comedy “Scrubs,” returning for its seventh and final season on Thursday.
The reason for the increased natural light is that a huge banner that used to hang on the side of the building trumpeting that it would one day be senior-citizen housing is conspicuously absent.
“That’s because they tried every year,” creator Bill Lawrence says, “and all they had to do is have anybody who wants to have their loved ones live in a nice place come by this building.”
“They had to abandon that,” says star Zach Braff, who plays Dr. John “J.D.” Dorian. “I think someone will probably level it and build something here.”
As to whether any thought had been given to imploding the building for the show’s big finale, Braff says, “That would be awesome, but we have all our stuff here still. It’s a great piece of real estate. I’m sure someone will do something with it, but they should start from scratch.”
The fifth episode of the season is in production on this day, and Braff is both acting and directing, as he did in the feature film “Garden State,” which he also wrote.
Braff is also doing triple duty on the upcoming film “Open Hearts.” It’s something he hardly could have imagined when he made his “Scrubs” debut in the fall of 2001.
Now the little cocoon where he built his career is about to go away.
“I’ve wrapped my mind around it enough to know that I’ll be sad about it,” he says. “My whole life in the last seven years has been this show. It’s changed my life.
“I was a waiter when I started. So it’s a giant security blanket. I’m finally at the point where I know I won’t have to wait tables anymore.”
For its last season, “Scrubs” has gotten to move up from the midseason berth it’s occupied for a few years and take its place on NBC’s Thursday-night fall lineup, along with fellow returning comedies “My Name Is Earl,” “30 Rock” and “The Office.”
“The weirdest thing is,” Lawrence says, “and it’s a bad thing for comedy, but NBC didn’t pick up any new comedies. The cool thing in there is that NBC is actually standing by, even though it’s not a ratings juggernaut, a Thursday-night comedy block that, without being too self-aggrandizing, I think is pretty good.”
In its run, “Scrubs” has taken a lot of comedy chances, and one of them has left a permanent mark. In the parking lot, there are two patches in the pavement a few feet apart, one where a stuntman drove J.D.’s scooter into a water-filled hole, and another where J.D. popped up, apparently having passed through underground.
The stunt, which cost somewhere between $60,000 and $70,000, was done for “My Way Home,” the 100th episode of “Scrubs,” and one Braff also directed.
“It was worth it,” Braff says, “and people loved it, because the whole point is to make people laugh, whatever you’ve got to do.”
