The eighth season was expected to be the last for
Scrubs, but in May 2009,
ABC announced that the series had been renewed for an additional 13 episodes.
John C. McGinley and
Donald Faison signed one-year deals and were the only cast members to stay on as regulars.
Zach Braff appeared in six episodes, in which he was billed as main cast, to assist in transitioning the show, while
Sarah Chalke signed on to guest star in four episodes throughout the season.
Ken Jenkins appeared in nine episodes, and
Neil Flynn, who was also busy with his new show
The Middle, appeared in a single scene in the season's first episode.
Judy Reyes was the only original cast member to not return, after declining to appear in a recurring guest role as she only wanted to return full-time.
Eliza Coupe, who portrayed
Denise Mahoney beginning in season eight, became a series regular, along with new cast members
Kerry Bishé,
Michael Mosley and
Dave Franco. Lawrence considered the eighth season to be the end of the show for
Scrubs, going so far as to ask ABC if he could change the name to
Scrubs Med. ABC declined, but Lawrence still advised fans to treat it as a new show, even putting a caption under the "Created By" on the
X-ray in the opening sequence saying [Med School]. ==Cast and characters==