THE HIT FACTORY

Bill Lawrence jokes that his brand of ‘comedy with emotional undercurrent’ hasn’t changed, regardless of whether it’s in fashion

Scrubs (2001-2010)

The Peabody-winning NBC turned ABC hospital comedy wrapped after eight seasons, only to be revived later. “I said, ‘I’ll do a spinoff called Scrubs Med and have it be med school,’ but they panicked at the eleventh hour and gave Zach [Braff] a lot of money to be in some and it was no longer a spinoff,” he says. “Now, at least once a day, someone will go, ‘Aren’t you bummed you ruined the show’s legacy?’ ”

Ted Lasso (2020-present) Lawrence co-created the Emmy-winning Apple TV+ soccer dramedy with Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly and star Jason Sudeikis. That a show inspired by a series of silly Premier League promos would ultimately become a smash hit surprised everyone. “It was just cool to be working on something optimistic and hopeful,” says Lawrence, “because we all needed that shit in our actual lives.”

Spin City (1996-2002)

The ABC comedy, which Lawrence co-created with mentor Gary David Goldberg, was set in a semifictionalized version of the New York City mayor’s office, with Emmy winner Michael J. Fox as the deputy mayor of New York. Lawrence had initially pitched Fox’s character as either a reporter or a guy who ran City Hall, and Goldberg and producer Jeffrey Katzenberg responded to the latter.

Cougar Town (2009-2015)

The ABC comedy, which Lawrence co-created with Kevin Biegel and almost immediately regretted its title, centered on a recently divorced mom (Courteney Cox) and her wine-loving friends, including Lawrence’s actress wife, Christa Miller. Lawrence stepped down as showrunner when the show moved to TBS after three seasons.

Shrinking (2023-present) Lawrence initially pitched his version of the therapist dramedy years ago, but the iteration that premiered on Apple TV+ is an amalgamation of his idea and Ted Lasso star Brett Goldstein’s. Together, the duo recruited Harrison Ford to star opposite Jason Segel. The team is currently prepping a second season, which will be about forgiveness.