Braff: ‘Scrubs’ can ‘go on without me’

Zach Braff made a declaration Wednesday afternoon about his NBC comedy: “ ‘Scrubs’ can go on with or without me.”

Say, que?

“Scrubs” creator Bill Lawrence, Braff and costar Sarah Chalke appeared on a panel to discuss the future of the series. If it has one, is the key question, as Braff weighs whether to renew his contract at the end of this season and Lawrence decides whether he would return without the show’s narrator and star.

“I wouldn’t do it without you,” Lawrence said to Braff on Thursday, in an “I-mean-it” tone.

“The show could totally go on without me,” Braff continued. “There’s so many variables. I would love to do it. I think everyone is procrastinating that decision until the last second.”

Lawrence said he is not writing a series finale this year. If Braff were to leave the sixth-season show, Lawrence vowed that J.D. would return next year to explain why he left.

“I’ll come back and find a way to die,” Braff said.

OK, so maybe the show could survive without J.D., but what about Turk?

maria.elena.fernandez@latimes.com