Scrubs: 10 Worst Characters Who Appeared After Season 1
9. Denise Mahoney
First Appearance: Season 8 Episode 1 - My Jerks
It might be safe to say that not only did the batch of new interns suck at a narrative level, they also marked the descent of the quality of Scrubs. While it wasn't the actors' faults, there did have to be some finger-pointing at a few key players, and one that assuredly sprung to mind was Denise.
As an intentionally sour-faced and off-putting character, Denise immediately stood out from the other new interns. Her deadpan (sometimes homicidal) lines could have made her the perfect comedy foil to balance out against the quirkiness of JD and Turk, but there was too much intensity to the character and virtually no substance to her malice.
By the time the show dragged its way into the ninth season, Denise had become a "fully-formed" character and bumped up to a main cast member that audiences could familiarise themselves with. But the show tried too many avenues with Denise all at once; they incorporated the snappiness of Dr Kelso, the mentoring of Dr Cox, and the childishness of JD - whilst also playing den mother to the even newer interns like a new Carla.
It was too many former character traits rolled into one, and by that point all hope was lost with Denise. Even in the rebooted ninth season, amongst the tedious and unlikable new interns, Denise couldn't claw her way out the sin bin.