Shawn and Gus' duo from Psych just reminded me of this other medical sitcom (& it has a similar bromance to portray)

Psych has long won over the hearts of viewers with its unconventional and off-the-wall quirky crime-solving tricks and the interminably charismatic duo at its core—Shawn Spencer and Burton “Gus” Guster.

Their brotherhood or rather bromance is loud, expressive, and madly enjoyable, draped in witty banter and childhood faithfulness.

However, watching them recently might perhaps even remind you of another bromance seen on TV—one situated not in a detective work space, but rather in hospital corridors and wild imagination and of course they’re none other than Turk and J.D. from Scrubs!

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Scrubs walked so Psych could run: The unexpected blueprint for ‘bromantic’ chemistry

Before Psych aired in 2006 with its pineapple jokes and false psychic frolics, Scrubs had already set an example for bromance humour that went far deeper than a few surface-level laughs.

With its debut in 2001, Scrubs gave to the world J.D. (Zach Braff), a daydreaming medical intern, and Turk (Donald Faison), his self-assured and jock like bestie. Though the setting for the show was primarily—Sacred Heart Hospital—and was miles and miles away from Santa Barbara’s police quarter, the connection between the two shows is instantly recognizable.

Turk and J.D.’s bromance brought out something uncommon and atypical on TV at the time of its release: back when it was taboo for men to be in vulnerable spaces with each other, Scrubs was indeed doing just that.

Men being open and vulnerable, communicative, and hysterically co-dependent. It’s this expressive sheerness of their friendship that makes them outstandingly comparable to Shawn and Gus from Psych.

From orchestrated dances to actually being there in support during times of personal and professional problems, Turk and J.D. carved a safe space for ‘guy love’—even going so far as belting about it in a musical episode;

“It’s guy love between two guys.”

It’s the bromance that regularised friendliness and fondness and the vision in how society now talks about male friendships on-screen without giving it any tags of taboo.

While Turk might not be as tightly similar to Gus, and J.D. might even be weirder than Shawn, the heart of both the friendships lie in untiring trustworthiness, mutual respect and having the utmost amount of love for each other.

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Why Psych takes the bromance baton—and runs away with it

Though Scrubs may have laid down the setting for a world of men being closely tied to each other in a friendship environment, Psych raised the bar even further for bromance humour.

At its heart is the phony psychic Shawn (James Roday Rodriguez) and his pharmaceutical-salesman-turned- partner Gus (Dulé Hill).

They’re not just besties—they’re basically just about glued to the hip, solving crimes together, sharing each and every meal, and boiling each-others blood in a brutal yet affectionately brotherly way.

Their bond is less about mild and tender love and more about being a peppy chaotic duo glued deep together by utmost devotion.

As the show goes on, Shawn and Gus go through substantial life fluctuations, but their relationship? It always remains central to them.

Whether it's going into crime scenes together or facing up to their own personal fears, their bond never, not once, fades. According to a fan on Reddit;

“Even in the silliest and riskiest circumstances, Gus is always there to assist Shawn, and Shawn reciprocates for Gus.”

The distinction between their character traits fuels the show’s funniness —Shawn is a character who is impulsive while Gus on the other hand is a cautious guy. Shawn is sarcastic while Gus is grounded.

But it’s their shared relationship and harmonised chaotic nonsense that sells it all. Every little inside joke, adventure, and everything else in between cements their place as one of TV’s most accurate bromance pairs.

While J.D. and Turk may have somewhat been the goody two shoes in comparison, Shawn and Gus are evading bullets or seen at crime scenes which makes the two pairs extremely similar yet different in their own endearing ways.

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Psych perfected their show into something so exceptionally absurd and brutally loyal. If you smiled, cried, and sang along with J.D. and Turk on Scrubs, then Shawn and Gus might just be your next favorite bromance to look at. The crime scenes might be fake, but the friendship? That’s as real as it can get.