Judy Reyes has reached the kind of moment in her career that feels both brand-new and full-circle. She’s in her late fifties, she’s busier than she’s ever been, and she’s holding down two wildly different roles on television — one that’s fresh and rising, and another that’s a beloved piece of TV history making its comeback. In her own words, she calls it a balancing act between her “boo” and her “side piece,” and she says it with the kind of laugh that has always made her a magnetic presence on screen.
Her “boo,” as she puts it, is ABC’s High Potential, a crime dramedy that sneaked up on audiences and quickly became a sleeper hit. The show is now in its second season, airing Tuesday nights, and Reyes stars as Lieutenant Selena Soto, a sharp and steady police officer who has learned to trust an unusual partner. That partner is Morgan, played by Kaitlin Olson, a single mother of three with what the show calls “high intellectual potential.” Morgan, who began as a janitor in the police department, stumbled into helping solve a murder and revealed a genius for observation and problem-solving that no one saw coming.
Lieutenant Soto, however, recognized her brilliance almost immediately. That detail is important to Reyes, who says that playing Soto allows her to tap into something deeper about women in authority and how they are perceived. “There’s something about whatever Morgan has got to offer — this high intellect will yield results,” Reyes explained in a recent conversation. “I feel like Soto being a woman can relate to being either dismissed or disregarded or not taken seriously because of a quirk, because of being unconventional and all of those things. So I really feel that everybody continues to respond and connect to all of that.”
The show’s quirky premise has struck a chord with audiences, and its success is not lost on Reyes. She still finds it surreal to walk around her hometown of New York or her adopted home in Los Angeles and see ads for the show plastered in subways and billboards. “It doesn’t really feel real because it’s so unexpected,” she admitted. “People are still so passionate about the show. I’m grateful.” For an actress who has seen the ups and downs of television across decades, it feels like a rare chance to experience lightning in a bottle twice.
Adding to the excitement is the mystery element that High Potential has woven into its second season. The premiere introduced Mekhi Phifer in a cryptic role that may or may not tie into the past of Morgan’s family. Viewers speculated immediately about whether his character is Roman, the father of Morgan’s eldest daughter, or someone connected to him. For Reyes, the introduction of Phifer is exciting, even though she hasn’t yet filmed a scene with him. “I’m pissed about that, by the way,” she said with mock frustration, before breaking into a grin. “He’s the sweetest guy and I felt like I was related to him. I’m anxious to see where they’re going to take his character.” It’s clear that for Reyes, part of the thrill of High Potential is not only getting to play a role she loves, but also watching the show evolve in ways she can’t entirely predict.
But while Reyes is investing herself fully in this new chapter, her past is knocking at the door in a big way. ABC recently confirmed what longtime fans have hoped for: Scrubs is officially coming back with a 10th season in 2026. For Reyes, that means stepping back into the shoes of Carla Espinosa, the nurse who served as both a grounding presence and a heart of gold in the offbeat medical comedy. Scrubs ran for nine seasons across NBC and ABC, from 2001 to 2010, and though it had loyal fans during its original run, its cultural influence has only grown since then.
“It was a cult classic,” Reyes reflected. “People quote it, people rewatch it all the time. It’s like a comfort show for people. I didn’t really realize that’s what I was part of until it was over.” Her voice carried a mix of gratitude and amazement, as if even now she’s still processing the reach of the series. In an era where streaming has allowed old shows to find new audiences, Scrubs has thrived as one of those “comfort watches” that people return to again and again, especially during uncertain times.
Reyes isn’t entirely sure what it will be like to step back into Carla’s world, but she has faith that it will feel like home again. The show’s creator, Bill Lawrence, is back on board, and so are her co-stars Zach Braff, Donald Faison, and Sarah Chalke. She laughed as she recalled a recent mix-up: Braff had sent a group text that she assumed contained a script for the revival. Instead, it was just a map of the rebuilt set, which had been constructed to look exactly like the original hospital. That attention to detail only fueled her anticipation.
Filming for Scrubs begins next month in Vancouver, and Reyes will be juggling both series at once — shooting four episodes of the revival before heading back to Los Angeles to continue working on High Potential. After that whirlwind, she’s hoping to carve out some downtime for herself after the new year.
The dual commitments reflect more than just professional success. For Reyes, they’re a testament to a career built on perseverance and authenticity. She has always played characters that resonate because they feel lived-in and real. Carla Espinosa wasn’t just a “TV nurse” — she was smart, warm, and fiercely protective of her patients and her friends, a character that nurses in real life often said reflected their own experiences. Lieutenant Soto, meanwhile, is grounded in her authority, but she also has empathy for the unconventional genius at her side. Both roles reflect women who carve out space for themselves in institutions that often overlook them.
What makes Reyes’ current moment so compelling is that she’s not simply revisiting her past — she’s thriving in the present. It’s easy for actors to become typecast or defined by one iconic role, and for a while it seemed that Carla from Scrubs might be that role for Reyes. But with High Potential, she has established herself once again as a vital presence on television, proving that her career isn’t defined by nostalgia alone. Instead, she’s showing that it’s possible to honor the past while building something new.
Her humor about balancing both projects — calling one her “boo” and the other her “side piece” — is telling. It suggests that she isn’t taking any of this too seriously, even while acknowledging how meaningful it all is. She knows that fans are deeply attached to Scrubs, and she respects that, but she’s also enjoying the excitement of being part of a buzzy new show that still feels fresh.
The cultural timing of it all can’t be ignored. In a television landscape dominated by reboots, revivals, and franchise spin-offs, Reyes finds herself uniquely positioned. On the one hand, she’s helping breathe new life into Scrubs, a show that represents comfort, laughter, and resilience to generations of fans. On the other hand, she’s part of something contemporary and unexpected, a series that is building its fan base in real time. Together, the two projects say something about the enduring appeal of both nostalgia and originality in entertainment.
For Reyes herself, it also seems to be about gratitude. At 57, she’s clear-eyed about how unusual it is to be this busy in an industry that doesn’t always create space for women her age, especially women of color. She hasn’t forgotten the years when steady roles weren’t guaranteed. She knows what it means for fans to connect so deeply to her characters. And she seems determined to savor this moment, even as she juggles the practical realities of filming in different cities, reading scripts on planes, and trying to carve out rest.
As she prepares to jump back into Carla’s scrubs and continue commanding respect as Lieutenant Soto, Judy Reyes is proof that a career doesn’t have to peak once. Sometimes, if you’re lucky and talented enough, it can expand in ways that surprise you, decades after you started. And if she wants to call one project her “boo” and the other her “side piece,” well, maybe that’s because love like this — from fans, from co-stars, from the work itself — is too big to fit into just one box.
For audiences, it means double the chance to see her on screen, double the stories, and double the joy of reconnecting with a performer who has always had the gift of making even the quirkiest characters feel real. For Reyes, it means living in the best kind of chaos — the kind where your past and present collide in ways you never could have scripted. And she’s more than ready to embrace it all.