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The creator said that in its place he will write a finale and battle with the studio to get it shown
“Scrubs” creator Bill Lawrence declined a pre-strike request to pen a backup ending that would have allowed the ABC Studios production to shoot a series finale even if the strike continued into next year, says The Hollywood Reporter.
Lawrence instead decided to write the scripts for the NBC hospital sitcom as he normally would and not honor the request to pen scenes in which, as he described it, “two people kiss,” which could have served as an emergency series capper.
The creator said that in its place he will write a finale and battle with the studio to get it shown, even if it has to happen next season. “I will use all my leverage to end this show properly, even if it means I have to do all the voices myself and call people up to read it over the phone,” he said.
Lawrence, appearing at a New York Comedy Festival event Saturday with the show’s cast, said roughly seven episodes of the show’s 18-episode order haven’t been written. That means that “Scrubs” could be forced into reruns as early as January.
All but one of the scripts turned in by the deadline have been shot, Lawrence said.
If a finale didn’t air on NBC, it could end up at ABC; current programming chief Steve McPherson developed the series when he ran Touchstone, and there had previously been talk that the show could jump to ABC if it wasn’t renewed by NBC.
