Posted in Rhode Island State Pride November 29, 2020 by

Visit The City of Providence In Rhode Island, The Place That Inspired Scrubs

Providence is so much more than just Rhode Island’s capital city. Once the forefront of the industrial revolution, the Ocean State’s largest city has a fascinating history. And while some may recall it being the setting for the NBC series Providence from 1999 – 2002, many have no idea that it actually inspired a much more famous and longer-running show… none other than Scrubs. 

Providence is known for many things, from its colorful history to its top attractions like Roger Williams Park, not to mention its fantastic dining scene.
Condor.com / Flickr
It's also home to Brown University, which is both an Ivy League college and one of the oldest universities in the country.
Miriam Hospital is a teaching hospital at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
Michael Leshinsky / Google
And Miriam Hospital is, technically, where Scrubs got its start.
Dr. Jonathan Doris was once a resident at Miriam Hospital. He also happens to be good friends with Bill Lawrence, the creator of Scrubs.
Providence, Rhode Island / Google
Dr. Doris was a Medical Advisor for the complete run of Scrubs. He even made an appearance on an episode during the show's final season.
Apparently, the show is loosely based on some of Doris' experiences during his internal medicine residency.
Presidencia de la República / Flickr
His stories inspired Bill Lawrence so much that he was known on the set as "Real J.D."
Clearly, Dr. Doris had some fantastic stories... because Scrubs was a huge success and remains a cult classic to this day.
Gabel Guagliumi/Wikimedia Commons
And while the show was merely "loosely based" on his experiences as a resident, we have to wonder if some of those tales were true.

Pictured here is the set of Scrubs in 2011.
These days, Dr. Doris is still doing good things for the world -- earlier this year, Bill Lawrence announced that he was working at a COVID command center in Los Angeles.
JJBers / Flickr
We'd like to believe the show's main character, J.D., would be doing the same thing.

Have you ever heard the story behind Scrubs? Did you know it was set right here in our home state? For some more things you’ll love about Providence, check out this article. 

OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article.

Address: Providence, RI, USA