From www.imdb.com:
 

Scrubs star Zach Braff will bow out of the hit U.S. series after completing its next season to pursue a career in directing.

The 33-year-old actor has starred in the show as Dr. John ‘J.D.’ Dorian since its inception in 2001, but admits he’s anxious to trade his on-screen role to get behind the camera.

He says, “We thought the show was over after seven years and we all got this bonus year so we’re all very excited about that. We don’t know if ABC is going to continue airing the show or not - it will all depend on this season.

“I think eight years is a great run. I’m very thankful for it but there are so many other things I’d like to do in my career and I think it’s time to move on.

“I directed (2004 film) Garden State. I’d like to direct more films and you can’t to both. It’s hard to be the lead in a TV show and also try to direct movies.”

My wife turned me on to this show several seasons ago and it’s still the only sitcom that I watch. In fact, prior to Scrubs, I don’t think I regularly watched a sitcom since Full House and Family Matters were part of ABC’s TGIF lineup.

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