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Donald Faison’s Dream Extended Family Guest Appearances Include Zach Braff, a Former Suits Star
After Jon Cryer heard Donald Faison's surprising pitch, he could only quip, "What could possibly go wrong?"
The Extended Family cast could get even bigger if one of the stars gets their way.
Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men, Pretty in Pink), Donald Faison (Scrubs, Clueless), and Abigail Spencer (Suits, Timeless) currently star in the new NBC sitcom. Cryer and Spencer play a divorced couple, Jim and Julia, who are trying to amicably raise their two kids. Faison stars as Trey, Julia’s new fiancé who owns the Boston Celtics, while Lenny Clarke plays Jim’s dad.
NBC Insider caught up with showrunner Mike O’Malley, Cryer, and Faison to find out who they would like to see join the cast on the sitcom next.
What Do Zach Braff, Charlie Sheen, and Meghan Markle Have in Common? Donald Faison Wants Them to Guest Star on Extended Family
Faison didn’t hesitate when it came to decide, opting for a high-profile mix of the Extended Family cast members' former co-stars when asked about his dream guest stars on the show.
“It’s three people that I would love to see in an episode — I don’t know how Jon’s gonna feel about it — but I would love it if in one episode it’s Zach Braff, the princess of — the duchess of whatever it is that she is," Faison mused.
“Meghan Markle?” Cryer said, helping Faison recall the name of the Duchess of Sussex and former Suits actress who starred alongside Spencer on the hit series.
“Meghan Markle, yeah and then Charlie Sheen all in one episode,” Faison said. “Now that’s dreaming!”
RELATED: Jon Cryer Had the Sweetest Two And A Half Men Reunion at the Emmys
“What could possibly go wrong?” Cryer said, a question Faison repeated while laughing.
Cryer and Sheen starred on the hit sitcom Two and a Half Men, which aired for twelve seasons total. They played polar opposite brothers living together as Cryer’s character Alan Harper raised his son. Ashton Kutcher entered the show as a co-star after Sheen’s exit in later seasons.
Faison's dream guest roles happening together may remain just that: a dream. For one thing, Markle doesn't plan to return to acting, she previously told Variety.
"No. I'm done. I guess never say never, but my intention is to absolutely not," Markle told the outlet.
Extended Family Showrunner Mike O’Malley Has an Idea for Zach Braff
Mike O’Malley is an actor, writer, and producer who has played roles on Glee, Yes, Dear, and The Good Place as well as writing credits on iconic shows like Shameless. He welcomes the idea of bringing on an actor like Zach Braff onto Extended Family.
“We’d love to have Zach on the show,” O’Malley told NBC Insider. “I think he’s just fantastic … The thing about a guy like Zach is I don’t want to waste it on just one episode, so he’d actually be a great person to be like , Abigail’s older brother.”
Cryer, meanwhile, envisioned another fun way to bring in Braff with a little bit of competition between Faison and Braff's characters, juxtaposing their close relationship in real life.
“I want [Braff] to play the owner of the Knicks,” Cryer said. “That’s what I want.”
“Oh man, don’t break my heart,” Faison quickly responded, his character is the owner of the Celtics, after all.
The friends also have a podcast Fake Doctors, Real Friends together, where they’ve discussed Braff’s interest in coming on Extended Family in some capacity, according to Faison.
“He wants it and he wants a role,” Faison said, reacting to O’Malley’s character pitch for Braff. “That’s a role, Mike. You’re not messing around. That’s a real role right there.”
One of the reasons O’Malley envisions Braff as a potential relative to the main cast is it gives the character the opportunity to come back on the show often.
“When you have people of that talent, you want to serve them and you want to give them something where they can really shine and you want to create an opportunity where they recur if they really score,” O’Malley said.
O’Malley himself benefited from being cast as a relative on another show. He recalled being offered one episode of Glee as Kurt Hummel’s father, Burt. The guest star appearance eventually led to O’Malley starring in several seasons and even garnering an Emmy nomination for his recurring role in the series.
“It’s a great way to sneak yourself in there,” O’Malley said.
Extended Family airs Tuesdays at 8:30/7:30c on NBC. All episodes will be available to stream next day on Peacock.
