Fake Doctors, Real Friends with Zach and Donald - My Premiere Night Primer

Episode Date: February 24, 2026

JD and Turk are back, and so are Zach and Donald. In this one episode special, Zach and Donald tease the upcoming relaunch of our favorite show, Scubs. Don't worry about spoilers, Z and D share some behind-the-scenes stories while Joelle and Danl give their unfiltered opinion about the premiere episode. Make sure to check out the debut of the Scrubs reboot on ABC and Hulu beginning February 25, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET/PT See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hi, it's Joe Interesting, host of the Spirit Daughter podcast, where we talk about astrology, natal charts, and how to step into your most vibrant life. And today, I'm talking with my dear friend, Krista Williams. It can change you in the best way possible. Dance with the change. Dance with the breakdowns. The embodiment of Pisces intuition with Capricorn power moves. So I'm like delusionally proud of my chart. Listen to the Spirit Daughter podcast, starting on February 24th, on the audience. My Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcast. I'm Amanda Knox, and in the new podcast, Doubt, the case of Lucy Letby, we unpack the story of an unimaginable tragedy that gripped the UK in 2023. But what if we didn't get the whole story?

I've just been made to fit. The moment you look at the whole picture, the case collapsed. What if the truth was disguised by a story we chose to believe? Oh my God, I think she might be innocent. Listen to Doubt, the case of Lucy Letby, on the first. IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Special Agent Regal, Special Agent Bradley Hall. In 2018, the FBI took down a ring of spies working for China's Ministry of State Security,

one of the most mysterious intelligence agencies in the world. The Sixth Bureau podcast is a story of the inner workings of the MSS and how one man's ambition and mistakes opened its fault of secrets. Listen to the Sixth Bureau on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Burden of Guilt Season 2 podcast. This is a story about a horrendous lie that destroyed two families. Late one night, Bobby Gumpbright became the victim of a random crime. The perpetrator was sentenced to 99 years until a confession changed everything.

I was a monster. Listen to Burden of Guilt Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Sound, this is my level. Here we are again, boys. Hi, guys. And we're back! And we're back. Wow.

Jewell, you look more beautiful than ever. She got her hair, dude. Your hair is so pretty. Oh, thank you. Jewell, we met a woman on the red carpet who has a woman. website and she knows you. What was it called? It was like Blurds, Donald? Black girl nerds. Yes. She was shouting you out, Joelle. That's very sweet. She was calling you a black nerd. Well, she was calling Donna the blurred. How are you guys? It's so good to see you. It's good to see you guys too.

Holy smokes. Hey, we made nine episodes of a new scrubs. Yeah. Yeah. And they're really good. You saw them, right? about it. Yeah. Did you guys like them? Yeah. Yeah. A lot.

I cried. It was really beautiful. The episode started and I was like, they're fucking back. You're back. Yeah. It was like no time has gone by at all. Not only no time has gone by, but like the timing is exactly the same. The vibe is exactly the same.

Like I'm blown away. I thought Bill hadn't written the pilot. I thought, because I text Dale was like, oh, Bill's pin never misses. And then I went back. I was like, Bill did not. write this. That's incredible. He oversaw.

I don't want to minimize. He's here. I don't want to minimize Bill. He definitely did rewrites and build it up. No, but I think it's big so like Bill. Bill has come on this podcast and talked a lot

about his mentorship and who else he's brought up and along his way. And these are two folks who've been with Scrubs for a long time who are incredible writers who's like comedy and the drama and the timing. Like you can see Bill's like essence and touches. just throughout all of it. And I just love that like there's enough community behind Scrubs

to keep this thing going at like 100%. We built the community here. This is where the community started up again. That's the crazy thing about it. It's like, you know, Zach talks about it in a lot of the interviews. We did a lot of research. And I didn't realize we were doing research.

You know what I mean? Like when he said that first time, I was like, wait, what? We did do research. That's right. We've watched this. You know, so the fans are gonna get exactly what they've wanted. And I think the timing stuff that you're talking about,

I think that has a lot to do with this podcast as well. I just said that too, Donald. Sorry to interrupt you, but I just said the same thing in an interview that you weren't on where I said, you know, Donald and I, when we did this TV show, we never had a chance where we were like improvising, you know, for, oh shit, my mic is fucked up.

We were improvising for like two hours a week together, you know, like riffing. And I just had this realization that that's, made our ability to riff even stronger because we, this podcast, you know, had us just shooting the shit and trying to make everybody laugh for two hours with no script. And I think that that really informed new scrubs. Dan, well, it worked. I mean, it's great. It's great.

Seeing you two back on the screen again, it honestly made my day. Like opening that first episode for the first time, I was just like, I'm in. I'm all the way back in. I'm back to when I was watching this for the first time, you know, rooting for my boys, J.D. and Turk to, you know, have their life adventures. It was, I mean, I mean, I don't know. We can. How many of you guys see? Well, I don't want to go through it chronologically because I don't want to go through a chronologically because this is going to come out. Oh, this is a spoiler for. Right. So we can talk. I really want to. I really want to do spoilers for people. this for the fans i wanted to we wanted to come back and say thank you to everybody listening because

you are most definitely one of the reasons this happened if you're listening and you're and you're a regular listener in this podcast it shouldn't go without saying that uh the success of this podcast and the love you all showed uh donald and i but also the four of us uh don't me i believe is the correct english um is is what what what what was one of the main propellants of this happening So this is our official thank you so much. And we all just couldn't wait to get it. Thunderous applause, Danil. But we all just couldn't wait to get back together and chat with you.

But also I wanted to just make sure we chat about all things, but not do any spoilers for people because this will come out before it airs. Right. But we are on a big press tour, Donald. And me? Just say an eye, bro. No, you know, Krista Miller. I am on a restaurant.

I know she... This is what I have. I have this Pavlovian response whenever I do I and me because Krista is insane about correcting me. And she taught me the trick for knowing which one is right, but it takes me a second to do the math on the trick. What's the trick?

Is that you take out the other person. So you would say, we've been on a giant press tour. I've been on a giant press tour. Right, Daniel, how do you do it? Yeah, so instead of Donald and I have on a press tour, I've been on press tour. It's not Donald. It's not me as been in a press tour. Yeah.

I have been an arrest tour. But it takes my brain a second to do that calculation. So I'm just going to avoid any sentences with I and me. All right. Yeah, let's not do that. It's all we. Let's just, we learn. How have you guys been?

Give us a little catch up. What's it like without us at I heart? I mean, it's insane. Our lives have been, it's been quite grim. All of the joy has been stripped from our lives. We do not have these weekly catchups with our favorite people. You know, I mean, Joelle and myself, I mean, I won't speak for you, Joelle, but I know that our workloads, at least my workload, has grown greatly, partly from the success of this podcast. People have seen that Joelle and I are not producers to be messed with, and so they put us on a lot of stuff.

I have fully transitioned to the video team, so I actually don't even work on podcasts anymore. I work on the video team, and I'm helping transition more podcasts to VIII. video, taking, you know, on strictly video projects. And, yeah, I'm behind the camera now, a lot more than I am behind the mic. Oh, thank you, Joal. I got to tell you, I've been doing a lot of, I've been going on a whole podcast tour for the show. And I walk into these sets like Conan's and Daxes. And I'm like, this is the most beautifully lit space I've ever seen. And the way it's shot with like moving cameras that are robotic and those ceiling. And I just keep hoping that one day, if we ever bring this back,

that someone builds us a beautiful Conan-like desk where we can all be, I guess, Daniel, you would still be remote. Do you know how much money that costs, bro? I know. Well, thankfully. Donald clutching his chest, listeners. I know, but maybe there's a world where I heart,

it's a Hulu show. Maybe there's a world where I heart and Hulu collaborate. But, oh my gosh, I went into Dax's podcast, and I was just looking up at all the lights. It's so professionally, beautifully lit. And I just thought if we ever did this again, it would be fun to at least, you know, three of us, I know you're in New York, to be in the same room

and be sitting around on couches. It would be fun. Sure. We'll clip this and send it to Will. We'll be like, Will. Yeah, we get it out of advance notice. Maybe I can take a trip out, you know, whatever. Yeah.

But, you know, there's one thing that needs to be done. Go ahead, girl. before we continue this. I know what it is. Go ahead. That I do too. Five, six, seven, eight. We had a story about a show we made.

About a bunch of dogs and nurses in a Canada who love a hate. I said he's a story. Should know. Wu-Tang forever. Wu-tang forever. We had so much fun making this show. We just dropped back in. Let's talk about broad strokes of the pilot without ruining anything for everyone.

I want to know what Joella is up to. I kind of cut her off. Sorry, we skipped Joelle. Joelle, you're looking fine. What are you been up to? Thank you. Oh, what can I share? Danil will have to bleep this, but we are working on another rewatch podcast.

We can't, it hasn't been announced yet, so we can't say what it is. You're going to bleep it anyway. Yes, it's, you know, a thousand other shows. I work with an Olympian now. I work with a therapist, lots of cool, fun people. So doing the same thing I do with you guys. not quite as fun or adventure. Does everyone make you on-air talent,

you all, because you're so good on the mic? I'm on air for three of my currently running shows, yes. Sometimes I fill in. I feel like nobody puts baby in the corner with you. You're so talented on the microphone. I appreciate that. I think that comes with, it should come with the package, right? Joel is going to be one of your producers

and on-air personalities as well. It has been a sales feature for Yeah. Well, because you're very, you're very interesting. Yeah, you're very interesting. Oh, I appreciate that. And people want to hear your thoughts on things. I mean, I always did.

I can't think of how many movies and TV shows I've watched Jewel that I want of your thoughts on. Oh, my gosh. Do you, can I? Wonder Man. Wonder Man. Hi, Donald. It's so good to hear from you.

Wonder Man was incredible. I give it. It's my, it's the best Marvel TV show since Loki. I was, okay. Yeah, yeah, Abdulmatine and everything. It's brilliant. I think it's better than Loki and I thought it was better than Wanda Vision. That's just me. It's my favorite too, but I just give a small caveat because those were big fan favorites. And I do think those were both really well-made series.

But this is, Zach, it's so grounded. It's barely even superhero content. Dude, there's no superhero content. Ben Kingsley is having the time of the series. Life. Oh my God, so funny. Who is? Who is? Who did you say at the time in their life? Ben Kingsley. Sir Ben Kingsley. Sir Ben Kingsley.

Mm-hmm. And yeah, yeah. I'll check it out. It's a two-hander. It's delightful. It's so good. Did you laugh so hard when Donald said ready to receive? Yes, I did. And then they had my squat. I was like, wow, he ready. Yeah. Did you see the butt pop up? I was to say you popped that bag out too. Yes. By the way. By the way, I directed that. I directed that. I directed that. I directed that. I

directed that and I said from the side angle Donald, I want to see you arch your back. He popped his booty. I was like, Donald, pop it, pop the back. I need to see it lift. He did rivalry. He did rivalry could never. They would never. They wish. It was truly a sight to behold.

Can I, okay. Yes, anything. The opening scene, just so spoiler-free review from a critic here. The opening scene is so genius. It was so brilliant because it was the roller coaster for motions. I was like, oh, they're going really serious with it.

And then I was like, well, sometimes scrubs could be kind of serious. Like that was like the whole bend of the show. And then I said, but this is very serious. Okay, it's a fantasy. They do fantasies in this show. I remember. It's a fantasy. And then a crazy insane thing happens. And then a much more insane thing happened.

And I was like, my God, we're back. but when you, at the end of all of this, you land in JD's current reality and you're like, I'm in safe hands with this show. This show's got me. It's going to get me through. It's coming with both the comedy, both like incredibly like serious grounded.

I was curious how the show is going to like, you know, we live in the world of the pit now, which is really tackling like very intense stuff. So it's like, this is a comedy show. And you guys did it perfectly. You were the first one. I was like, it's a pit. Thank you so much.

Thank you so much. I really wanted one of the main mantras was like, we're going to reground the show. And we got that from watching the show with you guys. We all watched how broad the show got. And don't get me wrong, Donald and I love ostriches stealing cangos. We find it hilarious. But I think in this new incarnation in 2026, we were like,

let's save all that insane surreal shit for the fantasies. Let's reground the real world and play it straight. And I think in the pilot, when I was directing it, I was really with myself, most importantly, but also with my fellow castmates, trying to get us all on the same page, you know, making the same TV show. And I would catch myself going, let me go again.

That was, that was too silly. That was too broad. Let's bring everything to reality. And I think that that was a great reset for the show to go back to groundedness. It was, because it allows what really works about the show, which is how adorable the two of you are to work. When JD's first voice over comes in,

I was like, damn, Zach's really nailing that cute. Like, it's just so. And then the first time, I see Turk, he can, I'm not spoiling, he can sense JD and you're like, oh my God, like, your whole face just lights up. And I was like, okay, when we're in reality, again, both real and dramatic and serious, but also just it's so adorable here. Oh, my God. Yeah. I'm really, I was worried about the friendship element and like what might change from time, but I'm glad the two of y'all stayed exactly the same.

You know, Joelle, when you talk about that first voiceover, that's when we knew it was, that's when we knew it was on and pop and also when we did the table. So the room is packed. Let me set the mood for you. Oh, do it, so I'll do it. Set the table for us. Set the table. The room is packed. It's all the execs.

Like, for some reason, everybody from Disney, ABC decided to show up that day. Bill's there. You know what I mean? We've got the script. We've had it for about a week now. We sit down. We do the table read. Sorry, we start the table read.

Zat goes, you know, in a hot. And fucking the whole room starts applauding. Oh, my God. It was really sweet because- I might have started the applause, sure. Okay, God. But the whole room started applauding. Love.

It was a really sweet moment because no one had heard me sort of do that JD, like, you know, in a hospital, like voice in such a long time. And it was just so funny. It was just so funny. And everyone just started laughing and clapping because, oh, my God, shit got real. We were actually making the show again.

We were doing it. Once you hear that JD VO voice. It's, you know, it's really crazy, man. Like, there's so many things that I'm learning while doing these interviews for, you know, this press for, scrubs coming out. Like, I had, I stated it earlier, I had no clue we were doing research. I had no clue that this could be used as research. I had no clue that a pod, like I, I implore, I, I, I, if any other show was thinking about reviving what they did before and they

have a rewatch podcast, like, you guys worked on New Girl. You know, I'm sure there are a bunch of other ones. That's where you find out what the fans really wanted. And we were so inclusive with our fans, you know what I mean? That we were able to learn so much, and it really served us well, man. It was. And we weren't thinking of it like that, obviously. It wasn't on our mind, but I look back now and going,

it's like, wow, we did like a giant research project to figure out not just what the fans responded to because we obviously learned a lot about that, but also what we responded to, right? I mean, what we found funny and when we thought, like, I think we were really candid with the audience. We were like, I think this one sucks. And then here's why. And I just didn't laugh. And I think a lot of people don't do that when they do rewitch podcasts. They aren't as candid or willing to say, I'm sorry, but this one sucks. Or I suck in this or why am I acting like that? Jesus, I'm like in a cartoon. And so I think that really informed so much of how we were going to approach this new incarnation.

It shows. Well, I mean, you so yeah, it's super shows. I mean, the way that you guys were able to just like bring it all back together. I mean, speaks to that research, you know? You know the show so well. It's not just something you did in your past. It's something that you have researched and re-watched, literally. And then bringing it back was drawing from such a much more fresh memory than something that's like, oh, how are we going to remake the magic of 20 years ago? You were remaking the magic of like six months ago.

It was like you were, it was so fresh. And that super comes across. That's a great example of what it was. We weren't recreating the magic of 15 years ago. We were recreating the magic that we've been, that we captured while making this podcast. You know what I mean? Like it's still the same thing, but we're looking at it through a different, through different that's a great way to look at it.

I'm sorry, Joelle. You guys are modernized. I feel like there are, there are some key but important changes. I think people will be delighted by what you guys have done with the Todd. Like, it's a little different. It's a little the same. But it's, as we often said in the show, we were like, well, that would just not fly today.

Now it flies. Like, there have been, adjustments have been made. We added the very brilliant, everything she says is funny, Vanessa Bayer. So funny. As an HR woman. Rules. So good. I don't want to ruin anything about the show.

No, don't ruin it. I won't say a word. Everyone of her interactions just had been rolling. They're so good. I turned to Donald after she had just landed like seven jokes in a row. And you know how like Family Matters wasn't built around Urkel? You know, they like, they made Urkel the star of the show. I was like, Vanessa Bayer's going to fucking Urkel me on this show.

This show is going to become about an HR woman in a hospital. She's so amazing, man. But everybody from ex-Mayo to Michael James Scott. Are you going too fast? So we have this. I think it can be helpful if you're listening to this before you watch the show. We can introduce some of the new characters. And I don't want everyone, well, let's just start with that.

So we have Michael James Scott and the comedian whose name is X. Mayo. Am I saying her last name right? I think it's Mayo. X Mayo? That's what I was saying. They played two nurses who are always next to each other, and they're charged nurses, who are sort of the head of the shift for nurses. and the two of them together are so incredibly talented.

She's a comic, and he has been on Broadway for a long time. He's been playing The Genie in Aladdin. And the two of them together are just the funniest pair. And it's really smart because we wanted to feature some more nurses other than Judy Reyes and Slash Carla this time around, because nurses are such an important part of the story. and these two being the charge nurses gave us a funny way into sort of the nurse side of things. They're amazing.

I like them a lot. X, if you haven't seen X in anything, we talked about Wonder Man earlier. She plays the agent in Wonder Man. She was in Freaky or Friday, the sequel to Freaky Friday. She's in a lot of things right now, but we also are very lucky to have her on Scrub. Let's go. New music. And the next big thing.

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you're going to have a terrible time with men. Actor, storyteller, and unapologetic, Aquarian visionary. Aquarius is all about freedom loving and different perspectives. And I find a lot of people with strong placements in Aquarius are misunderstood. A sun and Venus in Aquarius, in her seventh house, spark her unconventional approach to partnership. He really has taught me to embrace people sleeping in different rooms, on different houses, and different places, but just an embracing of the isness of it all. If you're navigating your own transformation or just want to chart side view into how a leading artist integrates astrology, creativity, and real life, this episode is a must listen.

Listen to the Spirit Daughter podcast, starting on February 24th on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcast. I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Burden of Guilt Season 2 podcast. This is a story about a horrendous lie that destroyed two families. Late one night, Bobby Gumpright became the victim of a random crime. He pulls the gun. Tells me to lie down on the ground. He identified Termaine Hudson as the perpetrator.

Germain was sentenced to 99 years. I'm like, Lord, this can't be real. I thought it was a mistaken identity. The best lie is partial truth. For 22 years, only two people knew the truth, until a confession changed everything. I was a monster. Listen to Burden of Guilt Season 2

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or... or wherever you get your podcasts. What if mind control is real? If you could control the behavior of anybody around you, what kind of life would you have? Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car? When you look at your car,

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And so, you know, those two, those three, Vanessa, Michael, and X, they're reoccurring roles. We haven't even gotten into the meat and potatoes with the new regular cast yet. Yeah, and we want to say right off that we have Joel Kim Booster, who is. Love Joel Combooster. very funny comedian, an actor, and an improver. He improvised some of those jokes in the pilot when he says, oh, I don't want to ruin them shit. Yeah, don't. Don't do it.

I know. It's so hard. There's so much stuff. I want to be like, at this moment, at this moment, at this moment. I know. I don't want to do that. I don't want to do that. That's not what we're here to do today, guys. No, no, no, no. Hold on. Casey has to say something. Zach, I love you. Zach, Zach. I love you. I know, Casey. Go back to your show. Listen, Joel Kimbooster is playing. and another attending at the hospital who very much would like to be the chief of medicine.

And another protege of Dr. Cox in the intervening years that JD has been gone. And then we have five interns because the show is about a teaching hospital. So you have to have someone that's being taught. And so there's many interns, obviously, in the hospital. But we're focusing on three medical and two surgical interns. Donald, would you like to talk about your surgical interns first? Introduce the audience to them. So we have my surgical interns played by Amanda Morrow and Leila Mohamedi.

They play, Amanda plays Deshaana and Leila plays Amara. And they are a lot of fun to work with, to be honest with you. the luxury of working with two of all of our young castmates are very funny, but these two are very, very energetic and have a lot of spark. And Amanda kind of reminds me of myself when we first started the show. And so I find myself, you know, fighting for her to have more to say because she's so good. And, you know, Layla, she doesn't miss a beat. She's very talented. Like, she never, nails every joke. And when she doesn't nail the joke,

she's very quisitive and asks questions on how she can. All of them, like all of the young kids, I can't speak for, I'm not gonna speak for Zach's medical team, but all of, but I can say all of them, they would show up to set when they didn't have work. They were very interested in learning about what we were doing. And, you know, we got very, very lucky because we could have got nightmares.

And instead we got free, freaking amazing, amazing young talented actors and actresses. And I'm really excited for, I'm really, I'm sorry, last thing, I'm really excited for where their lives, how their lives are gonna change in the next week or two. Yeah, I agree with Donald. You know, we searched everywhere for these young people all over the world, in fact, because we found one of them

in the UK. And they're just so talented and lovely. And I said to them early on, I said, you know, when I was, you're a. I really took advantage of this opportunity, not just as an actor, but I sat by the monitors and I asked questions. And I said, I am happy to teach you anything you want to know about production. So if you want to sit by the monitors, even when you're not working and ask me questions or ask whomever is directing questions, ask the producers questions. And they all took me up on it.

They would be wrapped and be hanging out and asking questions. One day they all brought little notebooks. It was so cute. They were like taking notes. They're just really sweet people. And what's crazy is that Ava and, who I'm going to tell you about, and Amanda, who Donald just told you about, are 25 years old. So when we, when Scrubs aired, they were born. Wow.

I don't even know. I don't even, I don't. Whoa. Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Yeah, you're right. They were just born. They were just born.

They were born in 2000. Isn't that crazy? That's wild. That's cool. So on the medical side, we have. Ava Button, who she's just so fucking funny.

She just graduated USC. She's very into sketch comedy. She's very funny improvver. She does a lot of sketch improv stuff. She's always performing. Got a lot of hustle in her. And she plays sort of

a very skilled doctor, but also one of these doctors who is an influencer. And I don't want people to be worried, like, don't worry. We don't go down a whole influencer, you know, lane too much. But it is a thing that some people are able to offset their medical costs by influencing and showing, like, here's what the intern experience is like. And they make money and offset the cost of all their loans. And so she's sort of representing a person who does that.

And then we have David Gridley, incredible actor who's playing Blake. He is older. He's 35. We wanted to represent the fact that not all interns come right from college. Sometimes people take a circuitous route to get there, which is something we never, a story we never told on the OG Scrubs. He's very handsome.

And everyone keeps talking about how handsome he is, including J.D. and Dr. Cox. They're both lost in his eyes. Interestingly, I cast him on Bill's new show with Steve Carell called Rooster, which is coming out on HBO. And he was so good on that. And he was a small part.

He was playing a bartender in a couple scenes. And I loved him. And Bill loved him. And Bill kept casting him. And when he read for this, Bill was also considering him for a part on Bad Monkey. And we were kind of talking. And Bill was like, are you guys going to take him or not? Because I love this guy.

He's a star. And we were like, no, no, no, don't take him for Bad Monkey. We want him for Scrubs. And Bill was like, you know what? I really believe in this guy and he'll have a much bigger, better part on scrubs. I want to put him on scrubs. So that's, and it's just a really amazing story because he's the nicest guy. He's got two kids.

He, he, he's, his life is just completely, all these kids' lives are just completely changed. But he in particular, I smile because he's got two kids and, and having quite a moment. And then, and then lastly is Jacob, who, um, plays Asher. An English intern. And we give you back story

we give you backstory eventually about why there's an English kid there. But that allowed us to also have some fun storytelling about the American healthcare system with all its problems because you have someone who can come in and say

I know the NHS isn't perfect but this is crazy. People go broke when they get sick. I mean, having the perspective of someone who has grown up with universal health care come into the American system, we thought could be really interesting. And not to mention, he's very charming and Hugh Granty. He has adorable. He has some great lines. Really fun character.

So funny. And, like, speaks to a certain kind of person, who I won't say. But, like, definitely relatable for people who, you know, might feel a certain way in hospitals. I'll put it that way. So that's our cast, the core cast of the new bunch. But then we still bring back wonderful, you know, of the wonderful original cast members like Hooch is back. Yes.

You know, the Todd is back. Yeah. Is there anyone else? Well, we have Judy Reyes. Well, Judy Reyes is not, she's, she's, you know. Judy Reyes is recurring because she's on another hit, That's right. She's on the number one television show in the nation. I love it. I love it. I love it. Judy Reyes is the queen of ABC because she's also on the ABC hit show High Potential.

And so she's been bouncing back and forth. Johnny's on our show too, but he's a reoccurring role also because he's on a television show. Tell me about that one. Johnny C is also one of the stars of Bill's new show with Steve Carell on HBO called Rooster. so but Johnny's on the show a bunch too. I don't want to give away too much to fans, but I don't want you to panic when you see him go away. I promise you he comes back. And we also have Neil Flynn and we have Krista Miller.

And the whole, you have all that to look forward to. Lots of fun. And I know the music is really important to everybody. I wanted to tell you that we promise we are keeping it going with some really good tunes. How fun is that, is that, without spoiling anything, that cue at the end of the pilot that Donald initiates. It's just perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect. I was got up and danced a little.

It was excellent. Yep. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. What was it like for you guys to be back on set and stepping back into these roles? Like, it's been a while. You have been revisiting with the podcast, and we did some bits, but you guys, you know, haven't fully stepped into the JD and Turk roles for quite.

quite some time. Did it come back naturally? Was there some effort and work into getting back into it? Because again, we couldn't, we were like it's, it feels like no time has passed at all. Literally. It was just like the next episode. That's so good to hear from you guys, but I don't know. It was easy. It was easy to step back in it for me. I didn't have to do that much. All I had to do is show up. You know what I mean? Like sincerely, I had to just prepare and show up. Zach had all of the work to, you know, he wrote, he directed. He. He. Directed. He. he, he did things that I, I'm gonna be honest with you. I was looking at him like, wow, dude, thank you. Cause if you weren't here right now, we,

I don't know how much of this, I'd be like, this is great. You know, he made it so it was, he made it so it was easy for everyone to come back and work. You know what I mean? He probably sacrificed, he probably sacrificed a lot of his own happiness in doing so, but. I did, Donald.

Thank you for saying that. No, it was hard. I'm not gonna lie, it was really hard. and I was so committed to giving the audience something good. I just was like, you know what? It's nine episodes. I'm going to leave it all on the field. I'm going to eat, sleep, drink, scrubs.

And I am not going to settle until these scripts are great, until we got the right cast, until the set is perfect. I just, all I did was work on this. And I never left. When I wasn't directing and I wasn't in the scene, I still stayed for every single take until wee hours of the night because I just wanted it to be great. And I don't know if I can do that if we get another season

and it's a big order because this was only nine. But I thought for nine, I'm going to just go, I'm going to go all in. I'm all in. I love that. I'm so excited because you directed the pilot, which was cool. I was like, oh, Zach's in action. There was a shot.

when the episode switches to super dramatic, where I'm like, this is a Zach shot. I'm feeling his essence all over the place. It was crazy. I'm curious, in the show, you guys are leaders and teachers. And Zach, you were just talking about teaching on set. When you guys are sort of crafting the role for the interns, okay, usually when a show comes back,

the new cast is like a mirror of the old cast. You know what I'm saying? It's like, okay, well, we had a jock and a dorky, you know, so this is completely, we've totally, so like, where did like these characters come coming? Because we were talking about, they're so, like, distinct and different from what we've known in the hospital before. I think, I mean, I, I, it's definitely credit to a scene, Batra and Tim Hobert, who and Bill, who really broke the story of what the pilot would be. but I definitely didn't

every time I saw an audition that was like oh he's trying to be young JD I went the other way I didn't want that I didn't want I sort of cringed at that you know there's there's a lot of history of these revivals where you can kind of see where things went

well or poorly and I one thing I was really aware I was I don't want to just be nostalgia porn I don't want to just be like remember when remember when that I didn't want to do And I also didn't want to go, oh, my God, it's young JD, it's young Turk, because that just feels just cringy to me personally. So, and then I was really, we were really clear like, what do people want? Well, they want the story of community and friendship.

And of course, this bromance that people love at the center of it. You know, we even addressed it in the pilot about the male loneliness epidemic that we spoke with Scott Galloway was on here talking about, if you remember. And we really thought like we should lean into that. People are lonesome. And this is really about people who happen to be doing the most noble job in the world saving lives. And it's so hard. And people die and they have the ups and downs of working in a hospital. And they really need friendship.

And they really need community. And they really need laughter. And so that was sort of like the core of like what we were going to try and bring back from the OG show. It did come back. And it was like really wonderful. And again, I did cry after the end of the pilot. I was like so beautiful. There's some emotional twist in turns in there where I was like, thank God this is happening

this way. Like it was, I was felt uplifted. I also felt uplifted when I saw Turk and Carla back together. My OG favorite couple. Uh, don't know, sorry to go full interview mode, but Donald, like, can you talk a little bit about getting back with Judy? Because again, y'all are so cute. I love where the relationship is at.

I don't want to spoil it. but you learn more about their family. And I was like, this is exactly what I hoped for Turk. It's so cute. Yeah, you know, that was the one phone call I made. After I heard Zach, myself and Sarah were signed on, I called Judy immediately like, yo, are you doing this? And she was like, we're working it out.

And I was like, because there's a lot to play with here. There's so much to play with here. We have a lot of untold story that we can tell. And you know what I mean? It's great to do it. stuff with Zach and stuff like that. But, you know, Turk's other identity, another part of his identity, is everything that's happened with Carla

throughout the nine seasons. And so that was the first thing I did was made sure that she was aware and if she was coming back, I needed to know because there's just too much to play with. You know what I mean? And of course, you know, when she comes back in, it's like peas and carrots. It's the same thing with Turk and JD or JD

in Elliot. It's, it just, you know, we played the characters for so long and we worked in that hospital for so long that it's really hard not to fall back into habit because the habit was nine years, you know what I mean? And I think they really represent a couple who just is so in love. You know, we see, you know, for the sake of drama and comedy on shows, there's always so much, there's very often so much friction

between couples. It's fun to see a couple represented that's just absolutely head over heels and love for each other after all of these years. And they have four kids together now. Yeah, but you know, that's that, but it's a true story. We all hear everything on television ends in, you know, with something bad, you know what I mean? Turk and Carla, I feel like that's the true love story. That's a real love story. That's the story that, you know, I aspire my life. to be like with my wife, you know. I have a very controlling wife who is very, who demands quite a bit from me, and I try to deliver. And it's, you know, it's not the...

Zach, I love you. Zach, love you. Okay, enough. Enough, all right? Enough. Really? You're over it already? Enough.

We just started, fuck your sound machines. You haven't gone for a while. Enough. That's how I feel when I see your guy's faces. You haven't gone for a while. Anyway, my point is, my point is, you're right, Joelle. Turk and Carla are the cutest couple ever to grace television. And it only, it only, and probably the best couple to ever grace television.

And it only makes sense for that love to show through in the revival. And they're so natural together. And we do it. Like when you shoot them as a couple as the director, you just, there's absolutely nothing forced about it. They look like a real couple. They're just so comfortable. You know, they had nine years of doing it together. They're just so comfortable with each other.

Yeah, there's no, you know. I remember they were like, they were like, we're going to have an intimacy coordinator on set. And I was like, for me and Judy? For us? Really? We need that. Well, it's 2026. You got to have that.

We also have an amazing crew. I got to say shout out to this amazing crew. And the medical advisors are so helpful to us because we, just like, you know, we used to do, we're very, very committed to getting all the medicine right. And every time we do something, you know, we look to them and say, was that right? Does that look real? They're like, absolutely. But maybe, you know, put your left hand here a little bit more.

So everything is just, you know, choreographed, particularly the stuff that's more intense than others. We rehearse with everyone so we get the choreography of it. So it's so no doctor or nurse could say that's not how it would be. It would be exactly like that, you know? Sure. Yeah, we probably look like. We probably look like, you know, Jonathan Lipnicki playing basketball and like Mike. You know what I mean?

Dribbling with one hand. But at least we're dribbling. You know what I? I don't get that reference at all. But at least we're dribbling. I got you. I was with you. Right on.

An amateur playing a professional sport. Oh, yeah. I think so, you know, I think, you know, we know, I mean, listen, not only do we have the advisor standing right there, but we. We also cut it together, so everybody looks like they know they're... And you know something we've been doing this season we never did in OG Scrubs is sometimes those... That's a real trauma nurse. You know, we'll be...

Like in that opening scene, you were talking about all those people around... Not all those people. I would say three of the people around that bed were ER trauma nurses. Really? Yeah. Wow. And that's something we never did before, that when you have a super intense moment like that, you can hire...

They happen to be, you know, in the union and you can get real... people who do the job and that's cool. Wow. That's insane. And again, it shows like you could totally see like it felt like a good flow. Can I ask just one more question and then I will- Anything, Joelle? We're here for you. But Joel, before you ask the question, wait before I ask the question.

What you're trying to get into a day or soon? And what you're trying to do? Go ahead. Fuck your sound machine. Wait, let me find that one. That one's deep. Here it is. Fuck your sound effect.

Fuck, fuck your sound effects machine. Go ahead, Joel. Sorry, I'm sorry, Jewel, my queen. I'm totally fine. I wanted to ask you, you had mentioned earlier that, you know, we wanted to keep the real world grounded. We're putting all the silliness into the fantasies. And there's, if you love a Scrubs fantasy

and you started to miss them in the later seasons, they are coming at you like every scene. You're like, oh, we're in another fantasy. We're in another fantasy. And they're so funny and so big and so over the top. I was like, oh, the budget is here. We spent some money I definitely got a phone call being like, what are you doing?

I was about to say, there was a phone call that was like, yo, calm down, bro. It was actually from Bill being like, what are you doing? Dude, we were like trying, we were, look, at one point, I'm not going to, I don't want to spoil anything. But at one point, we were trying to have freaking come on we were trying to have

freaking send us well that's a spoiler so bleep it you gotta bleep that we'll bleep that we'll bleep that we'll bleep that the newest tracks

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But by the way, did you guys, you got to bleep this too, Daniel, but you can just bleep what I'm about to say, we do a fantasy. Oh, hell, yes. It's insane. And that was the one where I got a call from Bill. That's where I got a call from Bill when he must have seen them budget spend on that. And he's like, what are you doing? I can't wait to see it because I thought it was the episode two stunt that I got me in trouble.

So I'm excited to hear that you're going even bigger later. No, no, no. It gets really fucking big. And then all of a sudden, great. It's fun. And by the way, I wanted to just. By the way, I wanted to. In expense.

I wanted to clarify. Two, that I didn't mean that we're not, we're still our silly selves in the real world. I just meant that we keep it, I just keep it, I just keep it, we keep it real. Like Donald and I are very silly people as displayed here, but we exist on earth in a real world. That's what the humor is like.

It isn't like, you know, sometimes we'll have a moment and we'll shoot it and be like, you know what, this would never happen. Like, it just feels like something that would be like a Disney Channel kids show thing that would happen. Like it's such a heightened reality. So we cut those moments and we shape those moments.

So there's all the funniness. There's all the comedy, but we're doing things that would happen in a real world. No ostriches are stealing cangos. We almost, we got really close. Yeah, that's the thing. We want to keep it there. We got really close to doing some crazy things, though. And every time we got, every time Bill would be like, absolutely not.

There's no way that's happening. Yeah, there were definitely things that were so outrageous that even within a fantasy of Bill was like, nope, but we certainly have fun laughing about them. Love it. Love it. I'm glad you guys had a good time. I think if you're a fan of the podcast, there's like a little bit of bonus material in the show for you because you could tell the writers have inside jokes that are just Zach and Donald.

There's a moment, not to give anything away, but there's a moment where a character turns to Donald and says, communicating with me just in Star Wars memes is not a form of communication. and I was dead. I was like, oh, this is just them talking to each other. And I was like, I feel like if you listen to the podcast a lot, there's an extra layer of comedy gold in the show for you. You know what? It didn't make the show this year, but we almost had a chore play episode, yo.

Amazing. No, the writers were definitely listening in the podcast. You can see because we'd get a script, we'd get a script, the first draft. And I'd be like, oh, this is right from the podcast. This is like chore play was in there. Wow. And Donald's love of meat. Yeah.

If you get a season two, I play a great dead body. I'll tell you that. I would love you to play a corks, Daniel. We'll fly you up just to paint you white and lay and let you lie on a slab. So that's that. So everybody, we please tune in because we would love to do more. And this is our shameless plug to say, please watch it. It's on Wednesday night, the 25th at 8 p.

And it'll be on the following Wednesday at 8 as well. We're showing one and two, I should say. So let me just get my plug in, Joelle. We're showing episodes one and two on Wednesday the 25th on ABC. And if you're not someone who watches ABC live, it'll be on Hulu the next day. But please watch it on Hulu because it goes without saying they're going to determine if we get to do a whole lot more of these if people actually watch it. So please watch it.

Please watch it. Watch it on me. ABC and watch it on Hulu. And if not, if not, we'll be, if you guys don't watch it, Donald and I'll be stuck making this show. Zach and Donald are gay newlyweds in house arrest. Is it after heated rivalry? Let's go. Y'all are at the emotional rest.

That might be the new thing. We just got to get graphic. We're not allowed. And you've got to be willing to show sack. That's all. We're not allowed to do that on Donald. We can't be in heated rivalry too, even if we were. wanted to be.

Why not? Even if you went to the head of... They're only taking Canadians. Yeah. And even if our audition video was... Eat these bowls, Zach. I don't think they would... You're not expect that button push.

Even if our audition video was... Everybody likes a little ass play. Don't even act like you. Whether it be a poop, a finger. Everybody likes little ass. Let me find the long one.

Let me find the OG long one. Everybody likes a little ass play, dude. There it is, here it is. Whether it'd be taken a... a poop, whether it be a finger, whether it be a tongue, whether it, you know, everybody likes a little ass-tracking. That's our audition for a year,

Raleigh, too. Wow. Love it. Oh, no. Oh, thank us out. Five, six, seven, eight. This is Special Agent Regal, special agent Bradley Hall.

In 2018, The FBI took down a ring of spies working for China's Ministry of State Security, one of the most mysterious intelligence agencies in the world. The Sixth Bureau podcast is a story of the inner workings of the MSS and how one man's ambition and mistakes opened its fault of secrets. Listen to the Sixth Bureau on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, it's Joe Interesting, host of the Spirit Daughter podcast, where we talk about astrology, natal charts and how to step into your most vibrant life. And today I'm talking with my dear friend

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The moment you look at the whole picture, the case collapsed. What if the truth was disguised by a story we chose to believe? Oh my God, I think she might be innocent. Listen to Doubt, the case of Lucy Letby, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Burden of Guilt Season 2 podcast. This is a story about a horrendous lie that destroyed two families. Late one night, Bobby Gumpbright became the victim of a random crime.

The perpetrator was sentenced to 99 years until a confession changed everything. I was a monster. Listen to Burden of Guilt Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.