Where Is ‘Scrubs’ Star Ken Jenkins Now — and Why Isn’t He in the Revival?
What To Know
- Ken Jenkins, best known for playing Dr. Kelso on Scrubs, has largely retired from acting, with his last screen credit in 2019’s Girls Weekend.
- Jenkins had a prolific career in television and film before and after Scrubs, including roles in Homefront, Cougar Town, and several notable movies.
- Although he will not appear in the first season of the Scrubs revival, creator Bill Lawrence has stated that Jenkins may return as Dr. Kelso if the show is renewed for a second season.
For Scrubs fans, Ken Jenkins‘ Dr. Kelso was one of the most important characters on the series, starting out as the “evil” chief of medicine and ending the series as a more lighthearted retiree obsessed with muffins. As his character evolved over the course of the series, he became a fan favorite, and it is no wonder people are asking if he is returning for the highly anticipated revival. Unfortunately, that answer seems to be no … for now.
Where in Ken Jenkins now?
Jenkins’ most recent screen credit is the 2019 TV movie Girls Weekend. Since then, the 85-year-old has largely stepped away from acting. According to Deadline, Jenkins retired from acting years ago, and Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence confirmed that he will not be in season 1. However if the show is renewed for season 2, Lawrence said, “Dr. Kelso will be back next year. It just didn’t work out this year but it will next year.”
Bob D’Amico/ABC/Everett Collection
How did Ken Jenkins begin his career?
Born August 28, 1940, in Dayton, Ohio, Jenkins built his career through constant, varied work. In the late ’80s and early ’90s, he appeared across prestige TV movies and series, including a major recurring role on Homefront, where he played Mike Sloan Sr. for multiple seasons. Around the same time, he became a familiar face in feature films such as The Abyss, Air America, Matewan, Courage Under Fire, Executive Decision, The Sum of All Fears, I Am Sam and Gus Van Sant‘s 1998 remake of Psycho. He also appeared in the 1994 miniseries adaptation of The Stand.
When Scrubs premiered in 2001, Jenkins joined as Kelso. He was a main cast member through the first eight seasons and returned for guest appearances in the ninth.
Erik Heinila/TBS/Everett Collection
After Scrubs ended, Jenkins continued working, though at a slower pace. From 2010 through 2015, he had a recurring role on Cougar Town as Chick, Jules’ father, which allowed him to lean more openly into comedy. In 2016, he portrayed segregationist Congressman Howard W. Smith in HBO’s All the Way. He also appeared on Black-ish and took on voice work, including roles on Gravity Falls and Harvey Beaks.
In 2018, he showed up in Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, one of his later on-camera television appearances. Fun fact about his personal life: he has been married to Katharine Houghton since 1970, who is the niece of Katharine Hepburn.
Hopefully, we will see him in a second season of the new Scrubs! Let us know in the comments if you will be watching.
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