Scrubs’ Judy Reyes has signed on to star in HBO Max’s adaptation of John Green’s bestselling novel Turtles All the Way Down. Turtles All the Way Down explores anxiety through the character of Aza Holmes (Isabella Merced), Deadline initially reported. Reyes will play Aza’s widowed mother, Gina, who teaches math at White River High School. She and Aza have a close relationship. Even though Gina encourages Aza to go to therapy and take her medication, she does not understand Aza’s anxiety. She is genuinely concerned for her daughter but suggests that she should just not think about the spiraling thoughts.
Reyes has appeared in many popular TV shows, including Scrubs, in which she was cast in the role of Carla. The show’s success did not deter Reyes from announcing in 2008 that she, creator Bill Lawrence, and show stars Zach Braff would leave after the eighth season. During that time, she told The Globe (via Digital Spy) that her colleagues’ salaries “exceed[ed] the budget… so do their ambitions. Mine do too.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
After leaving Scrubs in 2009, Judy Reyes appeared in guest roles on various TV shows. Then, in 2013 she was cast in a major role on ABC’s comedy-drama series Devious Maids, which follows a group of Latina housekeepers working for Beverly Hills’ wealthy residents. She landed roles in other sitcoms, including Jane the Virgin, Fresh Off the Boat, and The Good Wife.
In an interview with Shondaland, Reyes said she appreciates playing these types of roles but wishes for something different. “Achieving success playing the sassy nurse on Scrubs was the most amazing thing in terms of generating the career that I have. I get to be the sassy this and the sassy that. It makes money for people. It makes money for me. But I still want to be able to play something else,” she stated. “As a working Latina actor, I want the challenge and freedom to play different roles.”
Since leaving Scrubs, Judy Reyes has continued to act in more minor roles, but she’s also become a mother. She met writer and director George Valencia in Valencia’s 2008 film Glow Ropes: The Rise and Fall of a Bar Mitzvah Emcee, and the two soon began dating. In 2009, the couple had a daughter named Leila Rey.
