Will Judy Reyes leave High Potential for Scrubs? Actress finally responds

The news dropped in September 2025 that Judy Reyes is coming back as Carla Espinosa in the new Scrubs revival on ABC.

For eight seasons, she played Sacred Heart’s head nurse, one of the show’s most beloved characters. Now she is reuniting with Zach Braff, Donald Faison, and Sarah Chalke. But there’s a twist. Reyes is already busy as a series regular on another ABC hit, High Potential, where she plays Lieutenant Selena Soto. So, of course, fans started buzzing: would she have to pick one show over the other?

Turns out, Judy Reyes is returning to Scrubs as a “special recurring guest star,” not a series regular. That only cranked up the rumor mill. How is she going to juggle both roles without shortchanging one? Fans of High Potential, ABC’s top-rated show last season, aren’t too happy about the idea of losing her. And Scrubs fans are crossing their fingers, hoping Carla won’t just pop in for a cameo or two.

Will Judy Reyes leave High Potential for Scrubs?

In a 2025 October interview with TVLine, Judy Reyes discussed the issues directly, stating that both roles were possible because of special arrangements made by ABC.

“I'm so grateful… Because they're both ABC shows, they've gone out of their way to make sure that I'm available for both.”

The interview was only five days following Reyes’s joining her colleagues at Sacred Heart in a first table read in 15 years. She termed this experience as emotional and said that it was like they had just gone out to have lunch and returned. The chemistry remained intact, the writers were present again, and the script was seemingly superb. However, what is more important in this situation is what she affirmed on her schedule: she is not quitting High Potential. Period.

Judy Reyes disclosed that she will feature in four episodes of the Scrubs reunion. That is enough to make Carla play a significant role in the life of fans without overwhelming the calendar of Reyes entirely. The network basically created a bridge between the two shows by making arrangements that would allow her to remain in her usual position of High Potential, with special appearances on Scrubs. It is the type of setup that can be effectively executed only when all the parties involved are interested in making it work, and it is evident that ABC is.

The best thing about this arrangement is that no one must lose. High Potential fans are allowed to retain Lieutenant Soto, who has been part and parcel of the show since the onset. It is she who introduced Morgan Gillory, played by Kaitlin Olson, to the Major Crimes unit because she identified her superior mind as having the potential to solve cases. In Season 2, Soto has accepted Morgan as one of theirs, and this dynamic is what makes the show work in the first place. It would have been a tremendous loss to lose that.

High Potential has not been renewed for Season 3 as of now. In a recent interview with Decider, Judy Reyes was asked whether the show would be greenlit for another Season.

“That depends on you guys! That depends on the viewers whether or not there’s a Season 3. I would hope so. Everybody at ABC and Hulu and Disney is so excited about this premiere, so I guess it’ll depend on how everybody receives the show.”

Judging by the response, seems like the actress is equally excited for the story to move ahead and is in if that happens. So, for now, Soto is not going anywhere. That’s if everything stays the same and no last-minute changes are announced by the network or Judy Reyes herself.

In the meantime, Scrubs fans receive something of a special nature as well. Reyes affirmed Carla as the nurse still at Sacred Heart, saying “she loves that s-t.” The character has remained who she was, which is what you want in a revival. And the interesting fact is that Carla and her husband Turk, played by Donald Faison, now have four teenagers.

In Season 8, we left them when she was pregnant with their second child. Jumping ahead to have them with four children in their adolescent years? It will be funny and will likely be somewhat disorderly, which is precisely the sort of character building that makes a revival seem not imposed but attained.

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Judy Reyes herself appeared to have been very overwhelmed at the positive response when fans heard that she was coming back to Scrubs. She expressed that she was overwhelmed by the positive reception people had when they got certain that she was returning to the show.

She had read the first episode at the point of the TVLine interview, but she was already eager to see what the rest of the season would be like. The Scrubs revival was set to be released in early 2026, which means that the fans will not need to wait long.

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