BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Actor Zach Braff wants "Scrubs" fans to know the fairy-tale season finale on NBC was never intended to be the series finale. It just ended up as the last NBC episode due to the writers' strike.

"That was really frustrating," Braff said. "We put so much work into that episode ... and then it got judged as the finale of 'Scrubs,' which it was never meant to be. Because it was sort of a spectacle, NBC decided to market it as a finale so everyone was sort of mad at it. The fans were sort of [upset], like, 'That's the finale? What the hell does that have to do with anything?' I was a little bummed out. If it was just a regular, just cool, out-of-the-box concept show within the season, I think it would have been received a little better than it was."

"Scrubs" will get a chance to end on its own terms when it moves from NBC to ABC for its eighth season -- its first in high definition -- sometime during the 2008-09 TV season (it's a midseason replacement). It will be Braff's last year with the series, but the show could go on without his J.D. character.

Series creator Bill Lawrence said some new interns have been added to the cast, Aziz Ansari ("Human Giant") among them.

"It's one of those 'never say never'-type situations," Lawrence said. "We found ourselves reinvigorated this year creatively."

But Lawrence admits it's a creative conundrum to continue "Scrubs" with Turk (Donald Faison) but without best friend J.D.

"The show would have to be redefined," Lawrence said. "Otherwise we wouldn't do it."

Regardless of whether or not a "Scrubs: The Next Generation" comes to pass, Lawrence said he'll script this year's season finale as if it's the end for the original cast. He joked that it will be a rip-off of "M• A• S• H."

"I suffocate a chicken," Braff said, laughing.

"Without giving away too much, J.D. will be leaving the hospital," Lawrence said. "It's about when you leave whether or not you can hold onto your relationships or not."

Production on the final season of "Scrubs" has been ongoing and will wrap by Sept. 1. That should leave plenty of time available for star Sarah Chalke to reprise her role as the maybe-mother on CBS's "How I Met Your Mother."

"They don't want me to say it, but she's the mom," Lawrence joked.

Other "Scrubs" tidbits for the new season:

• Although retired, Dr. Kelso (Ken Jenkins) remains a regular character. He won muffins for life from the hospital coffee shop, which gives him a reason to be at Sacred Heart.

• Courteney Cox will guest star in three episodes as Kelso's replacement.

• The Janitor (Neil Flynn) will travel to the Bahamas to get married, and "Scrubs" will be shot on location there. Lawrence still plans to reveal the Janitor's name in the series finale, although Flynn has decided it is Zanzibar Buck Buck McFate, which is a name from a Dr. Seuss book.

• "Scrubs" webisodes will be made for ABC.com starring the young interns and telling brief stories from their newbie perspective.