Zach Braff to Leave Scrubs

Zach Braff’s career as J.D. on Scrubs will come to a flat-line at the end of the show’s upcoming season, after what will have been eight vibrant years as its main character and narrator.

Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence declined to say specifically whether the show would follow Braff into the sunset, but offered a glimpse of his outlook when he said, “You can’t kill this show.” If the show does continue, Braff said he could see himself making occasional guest appearances, just for old times’ sake. Having already directed six “Scrubs” episodes himself, he also left open the possibility of returning in that role.

Coming on the heels of his success as writer/director of the 2004 film Garden State, Braff is in the midst of two movie endeavors. He’s directing one of twelve short films as part of New York, I Love You, produced by the makers of Paris, je t’aime.

But his big project, and likely a reason for his TV departure, is Open Hearts, an adaptation of a dark Danish film that he had to shelve in September 2006 for lack of cast members. "It's a really dark drama about a car accident and the way the accident affects all the people involved in it,” he said. Sounds a bit like Crash, no?

It’s yet to be seen what lead actor Scrubs will turn to for life support.