There's so much f--kin' hate and negativity on the internet," he said. "For the most part, we don't include anything that's really dissing or making fun of anyone. Donald and his best friend and former Scrubs co-star Zach Braff started the show at the end of March, just a few weeks after the coronavirus pandemic had shut down much of the United States. It was meant to be a show sort of in the vein of Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey's Office Ladies podcast, in which the two friends would rewatch episodes of Scrubs and share behind-the-scenes stories. Typically when you get a surprise, it's like, ‘Oh my god!'" Joelle said. "It takes them a few minutes to compose themselves. It's just so cute." I know at some point he realised, ‘Oh, shit, this isn’t real.’ I think it was towards the end when he calmed down,” Faison says.

That's how Donald Faison, in his standard Oprah voice, introduced me when I thought I was signing on to be a silent observer on the Tuesday, Sept. 15 episode of the iHeartRadio podcast Fake Doctors, Real Friends. I had been thinking I'd just get to sit there for an hour and watch my fake podcast friends record the show before our real post-podcast interview, but instead I was on the show itself, not even totally sure that I was until about 20 minutes in. That's how chill Fake Doctors, Real Friends is—you might be on the podcast, or you might not, and it might not even matter.I think you share a lot about who you are," Zach told him. "You share a lot about your heart and you share a lot about what you're passionate about. I mean, this is twice a week, every week. You're sharing a lot of stuff." Season 6 Episode 15 Discussion] ( https://www.reddit.com/r/Scrubs/comments/v70d9m/fake_doctors_real_friends_discussion_season_6/?) Braff had just spent some of his Scrubs money on a new Porsche, and he was reasonably protective of it. Faison lured him out to a local liquor store, and while they were inside, a kid spray painted the car. It all went off without a hitch, and Braff emerged from the shop to see his beloved new motor defaced. Years later he told Graham Norton that he started “pummelling” the kid when he caught him, but the producers had edited that out from the episode to save his blushes. Well I could see where they'd be like, ‘I know that Donald likes donuts," Donald said. "But my point is that I still have things that are still mine, you know what I mean?" Our dynamic in real-life] is pretty much the same, except we don’t cut to fantasies and we curse,” Braff says. At one point in the conversation, Faison’s 5-year-old daughter Wilder has walked into the closet, and is nuzzling into her father. “I wanna do what Wilder is doing to him right now,” Braff says, “I wanna be snuggling him.”

They always want the show to be kind, Zach said, and they will occasionally cut something out if it sounds "douchey." That day's guest was supposed to be a fun birthday surprise, and while it didn't work out that way, many others have. Donald got to inform one fan that his wife was pregnant, which annoyed Zach because he wanted to be the one to break the news. Usually, the fan segments end up taking Zach and Donald on a fun journey, especially after they incorporated the segment "Fix Your Life," where guests can ask them for random life advice. But they've definitely started to notice people reaching for new questions and are always hoping somebody comes up with something new. I like the vibe of sort of showing the seams of the show [even when] it's like that was f--ked up," Zach continued. "Because I feel like it's relatable. No matter what you do in your life, you're like, ‘Oh, that's not how I wanted that to turn out.' I think people just relate to that. We're just four friends hanging out and s--t gets f--ked up. I think it's better to have mistakes happen."Donald countered, "Yeah but even with all of that, even with everything that we share, it's not like people know who we are at the end of the day."

I’ve honestly never seen it,” Braff says. “It’s gonna be funny in however many years when we get to it on the podcast.” Of course, the coronavirus pandemic almost derailed the entire operation, but they managed to find a way to record from their respective houses. And while nothing is ideal about the current situation, the podcast has become a welcome distraction in turbulent times for listeners and the hosts themselves.

I want to be my honest self in in a lot of ways that the characters on the show are really honest with each other. I think the people that like Scrubs, one thing they might like about the podcast is that Donald I are just very real and open and honest and share from our lives," Zach said. "For the most part, we leave almost everything in." It makes for great listening: a modern day equivalent of a DVD commentary mixed with top level podcast patter. “In the ideal world [it’s like the listener] is just hanging out with some friends, shooting the shit,” Braff says.