Sarah Chalke Joins Zach & Donald On ‘Fake Doctors, Real Friends’

On this episode of Fake Doctors, Real Friends – where Zach Braff and Donald Faison rewatch episodes of their hit sitcom Scrubs and reminisce about everything from the casting process to memorable behind-the-scenes moments – they are very excited to welcome their guest, “America’s favorite Canadian” Sarah Chalke, who played Dr. Elliott Reid. They watch season one, episode four of the series, “My Old Lady,” swapping memories of the shoot and the audition process, and Sarah shares stories about her time on Roseanne, what it’s like to watch her little sister become a real doctor on the frontlines of the coronavirus, and how hard she tried to get her family to watch the show when it was on – but they only had eyes for 24.

Sarah’s first big acting job was replacing the original Becky (played by Alicia Goranson, who left the show to attend Vassar College) on Roseanne. She was only 16, and when she got the job, the news spread around her high school. “It sounded fake,” she admits, because it was one of the most popular shows on television – and then, they called to tell her that "they were getting cold feet about replacing Becky.” They gave her a $10,000 holding fee to keep her from taking another job for four months while they made up their minds. “I thought my a** was grass at my high school!” she laughs, and Zach says she should have just taken her cash and spread it out for all to see: “Excuse me while I fan my face with my holding fee,” he jokes. 

She had just moved to L.A. when she got her audition for Scrubs. “I opened the script...I was like oh s**t, this is the best thing I’ve ever read,” she remembers. “I want this part so bad!” So she blew off another audition to prepare for it. She says it’s interesting to rewatch it now and think about her younger sister, who’s an actual doctor working with Covid-19 patients – especially this episode, that examines the enormous amount of responsibility put on young doctors. Zach and Donald have talked before about how well the show manages the comedy as well as the reality of being a doctor, and Sarah agrees: when they all met in the audition room, “I think we all knew...that this was something special." Listen to the episode for more of their memories and observations of the beloved show on this episode of Fake Doctors, Real Friends.

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