Few friendships on television are as lasting and iconic as J.D. and Turk’s “bromance” on “Scrubs.” But Bill Lawrence wasn’t just pulling the characters’ (played by Zach Braff and Donald Faison) dynamic out of thin air.
Braff recalled on the “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast Friday that the series creator would literally take “insane” stories from the actors’ real relationship and put them into the show.
“We literally met at the table read, and it was love at first sight,” Braff told host Conan O’Brien. “We became those characters. And then it fed itself, because Bill would be like, ‘What did you guys do this weekend?’ And we’d tell him some insane story, and then a week later, there would be a version of it in the script for the characters.”
Braff went on “Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend” on Friday, talking to the former late-night host about his time on the long-running comedy series. On the episode, O’Brien called the union of Braff and Faison one of “divine intervention,” and a “gift that keeps giving” for the comedy series.
“You could see it on the show that you guys really clicked,” O’Brien said. “I hadn’t seen two young men before on a show [where] you’re constantly hugging each other and telling each other, ‘I love you.’ It’s so sweet.”
You can watch the full video below.
“Scrubs” ran from 2001 to 2008 on NBC before switching to ABC through 2010. The hospital-set sitcom was one of the first series with Lawrence credited as a creator, preceded only by “Spin City.” He has since had an accomplished career, with series like “Ted Lasso” and “Shrinking” receiving critical, audience and awards acclaim.
One of the signature features of “Scrubs” was the friendship between Turk and J.D., which has lasted long past the show’s finale. Braff and Faison have continued their real-life friendship, appearing together in commercials and launching a 2020 podcast titled “Fake Doctors, Real Friends.”
In July of 2025, a “Scrubs” revival got a straight-to-series order from ABC, scheduled for the 2025-2026 TV season. Alongside EP Lawrence and original series co-star Sarah Chalke, both halves of the Braff/Faison bromance are slated to return.
“I think it was really, I think he was also doing a commentary on masculinity himself. And I think Bill was trying to show, you know, it became the term ‘bromance,’ right? But to show two best friends who love each other so much. They happen to be straight, but in all other ways, they’re in love,” Braff said of J.D. and Turk. “They love each other, and they just, all they ever want to do is spend time with each other. And, um, so I think Bill, I think that’s what was so great about the characters that Bill created. And of course Donald and I really were that.”
“Well, you could tell, like, watching the first season, I was like, ‘Oh, they’re also screwing around, acting like idiots off-camera, and probably annoying people’” O’Brien joked.
