Josh Bycel to help showrun 'Scrubs'

Scribe will guide new storyline and location

By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

ABC is transplanting 'Scrubs' from a hospital to a med school, and new exec producer Josh Bycel is part of the operation.

Scribe Josh Bycel will help perform surgery on ABC's "Scrubs," signing on as the show's new executive producer.

Bycel will serve as a showrunner on "Scrubs" alongside creator Bill Lawrence, who will be busy doing double duty as he launches his Alphabet comedy "Cougar Town."

Bycel joins the show as it undergoes a major storyline shift. Laffer 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 "Scrubs" stars, including Sarah Chalke, may make appearances as well. But the show will also be populated by a slew of new thesps next year.

Bycel will play a major role in that evolution. Scribe's credits include "Psych," "Andy Barker, P.I." and "American Dad."

Bycel also fills a void left by the departure of exec producers Garrett Donovan and Neil Goldman, who are now running NBC's new laffer "Community" with creator Dan Harmon.

ABC has picked up 18 segs of "Scrubs" for next year. Laffer 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 producer ABC Studios and its sister network began talking to Lawrence last spring about ways to keep the show going, including the med school idea.