The Next Cosby?

Scrubs is a special TV show, so much so in fact, that it survived many timeslots at former home NBC, a network jump from NBC to ABC last year, and, most impressively, apparent cancellation (the show was supposed to end last season, you know).

So when Scrubs returns for its somewhat unexpected ninth season this fall, again on ABC, it will trade its familiar hospital setting for a medical school, with Dr. Christopher Turk (played by Donald Faison) and Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) leading the way.

“It’s going to be a different show,” creator Bill Lawrence recently said. “It’ll still be life-and-death stakes, but if the show is just Scrubs again in the hospital with a different person’s voiceover [Zach Braff is coming back for only six episodes], it would be a disaster, and people would be mad.”

Lawrence promises that every now and then, students will visit Sacred Heart, where they might run into such original cast members as Braff, Sarah Chalke, Judy Reyes, and Ken Jenkins, who will all return for guest shots.

More importantly, though, this means that Faison (pictured at right) will be the star of the show – which means this is the first time in a while and a half that an African-American will lead a sitcom on one of the big four networks.

Nine years in, this could be Faison’s biggest moment yet. He could succeed where Damon Wayans almost did, and become the next Bill Cosby.

Scrubs has a buzzy, loyal fan base. It’s got amazing staying power, clearly. So this re-invention can only…well, let’s not add to the pressure.

Photo: DentroTele.com.