Television’s biggest night — the Primetime Emmy Awards — is just days away, but the cast and crew of “Scrubs,” a best-comedy nominee, clearly have other things on their mind. Like work.
After a summer-long hiatus, the show returned to production last week, injecting life back into the vacant North Hollywood Hospital that serves as the set for the medical comedy.
Dogs roam the hallways and stars relax in their hospital, er, dressing rooms as crew members with walkie-talkies set up the day’s shoot.
No one says anything about the Emmys. Because, they later explain, no one expects the show to win.
“Nobody here is writing speeches or anything,” says Bill Lawrence, 37, the show’s creator and executive producer. “We’re so convinced that we’re not going to win this year that we’ve all promised people that once we lose we’re going to walk off in a huff.”
“Scrubs” is competing against “The Office,” “Arrested Development,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Two and a Half Men.”
Lawrence isn’t alone with his doomsday prediction. Stars Donald Faison and Judy Reyes also think victory is unlikely.
“We’re expecting to lose to ‘The Office,’ just like every other show is,” says Faison, who plays Turk, a surgeon. “But we’re going to go just in case.”
Not that he’s given much thought, yet, to his attire for the evening.
“It’s not something where I’ve got my tux steamed already,” he says. “It’s an honor to be nominated, and it’s great to be put in the category with other shows you respect, but I’d rather be home playing Xbox, to be truthful.”
Balancing work and partying
Reyes, who plays Turk’s wife, nurse Carla, says she’s eager to “gown it up” with her colleagues. She chose a dress last weekend and is on a mission to find just the right jewelry. But she’s more excited about being back to work than she is about the possibility of taking home a trophy, she says.
“In the spirit of protecting ourselves, we’re probably reserving our anticipation of the event for the actual evening,” Reyes says. “I’m trying to keep it open in the universe, but it’s not likely that we’ll win.”
She still plans to party though, if the production schedule allows.
“Between shooting the episodes, actually trying to make it to any of those events is going to be pretty tricky,” Reyes says.
Despite the endorsement from the “Scrubs” cast, confidence wasn’t exactly soaring at “The Office,” where production also recently resumed.
Workers are excited, says executive producer Greg Daniels, but the schedule is so unforgiving that the women on the staff are shopping for dresses online.
“It’s likely that we will show up without any good speeches written because we were working,” he says.
But that doesn’t mean they’re not excited about the nominations. Besides best comedy, “The Office” was nominated for comedic writing, and star Steve Carell is also up for best actor.
Las Vegas oddsmakers predict wins for Carell and the show, but Daniels says he’s trying not to get too excited.
“I’m personally trying to look at it as just the employee motivational awards,” he says, referring to recognitions given at the fictional paper-supply company on the show. “But I still really want to win.”