Reportedly, the sitcom will change focus following the departure of most of the cast. It will revolve around a medical school where Turk (Donald Faison) and Cox (John C. McGinley) teach a group of med students — and a bunch of those med students (who haven't been cast yet) will be regulars.

Zach Braff has agreed to return for half a dozen episodes as J.D.; other cast members, including Sarah Chalke and Judy Reyes, may also make guest appearances.

If the show has to continue, it's definitely a good idea to change it up. Whether it will work remains to be seen.

Success or failure will be, to no small degree, in the hands of newly hired executive producer Josh Bycel. He'll be the show-runner on "Scrubs," with creator/executive producer Bill Lawrence having less time to devote to the show because he's launching "Cougar Town" on ABC.

(Courteney Cox stars as a 40-something single mother in this new comedy — which looks pretty good.)

Bycel's credits include "Psych" and "Andy Barker, P.I," which gives us reason to hope for the best. They also include "American Dad," "It's All Relative" and "Veronica's Closet," which aren't quite as impressive.

Keeping "Scrubs" alive is going to be a tough task. Not only did it have an outstanding run on ABC last season, but the season finale would have made a great series finale.

It'll be a tough act to follow.

E-mail: pierce@desnews.com