Meet the Cast of the New Sitcom Extended Family, Featuring a Scrubs Star and an '80s Icon

A hilarious new multi-cam comedy called Extended Family is coming to NBC soon! 

The show tells the story of a freshly divorced couple who attempt to raise their two children together amicably. However, things get messy when the ex-wife begins to date the owner of her ex-husband’s favorite sports team, leading to some comically awkward situations. 

Veteran television writer Mike O’ Malley is the writer and executive producer, while Tom Werner, Wyc Grousbeck, Emilia Fazzalari, and George Geyer also have executive producing credits on Extended Family.

The show boasts an ultra-talented ensemble cast, featuring some names that you may recognize. Here's what to know about each cast member.

Cryer has had a lot of experience in the comedy universe. He is best known for playing one of the lead characters in the hit series Two and a Half Men, which ran for 12 seasons, from 2003 to 2015. He was Dr. Alan Harper, who appeared on all 262 episodes of the show. Cryer ended up winning two Emmy Awards for playing Alan: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2009 and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2012 for the role. 

Cryer published a memoir titled So That Happened in 2015, chronicling his life as an actor. He told CBS that year that he knew he wanted to go into the entertainment industry at a young age, as he he grew up in New York City and witnessed his parents as actors. 

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"When you're a little kid and you're backstage seeing all these crazy, magical people floating in and out of your life, it can't help but cast a spell on you," Cryer said. "I wanted to be a part of that."

Cryer’s major breakout role was that of Duckie Dale in the smash hit ‘80s movie Pretty in Pink.

"Duckie was the guy I wanted to be in high school," Cryer told CBS. "I was a theater geek at a science geek school. So I did not fit in. I wore leg warmers. I'm not proud of it! I wish that I had been as extroverted and sure of myself as Duckie was. But that was not me."

Cryer also played the legendary villain role of Lex Luther in the series Supergirl from 2019 to 2021, and has appeared in films like Big Time Adolescence, Hot Shows, and No Small Affair.

Spencer played the role on 15 episodes of Suits, making appearances in every season besides Season 6. Her plotline revolves around the romance between her and one of the lead characters, Harvey Specter. Scott is a Harvard Law School graduate who finished 5th place in her class. She and Specter dated while at the institution, and she frequently reappeared in his life as a love interest during the show.

Since Suits, Spencer has remained close friends with her co-star Meghan Markle. Spencer spoke about the relationship between Markle and Prince Harry on the 2022 documentary Harry & Meghan, where she revealed that she was apparently the first person that Markle told about her relationship with Prince Harry. 

Spencer’s first breakout role was as Becca Tyree on the soap opera All My Children, a role she played from 1998-2001. She also played the role of Suzanne Farrell, a teacher to Don Draper’s daughter, on Season 3 of Mad Men.

She also made appearances on Season 14, 15, and 18 of Grey’s Anatomy as Dr. Megan Hunt, a trauma surgeon who served in the US army. 

Spencer also appeared as one of the lead characters, Amantha Holden, in the critically-acclaimed series Rectify, which ran from 2013-2016. Amantha was the younger sister of Daniel Holden, a man who was falsely imprisoned for the murder of his girlfriend. 

As for her role in Extended Family, Spencer is Julia, the ex-wife of Jim, who gets swept off her feet by Trey. 

Abigail Spencer stars in NBC's 'Extended Family' Photo: NBC

While Faison got his breakout role in the hit 1995 film Clueless as the popular yet immature high school student Murray Duvall, his best-known role to date is that of surgeon Dr. Chris Turk in NBC’s ensemble medical comedy Scrubs, which ran from 2001 to 2010.

While Dr. Turk had the reputation for being cocky at Sacred Heart Hospital, he also proved himself to be highly supportive to his friends and family, and was an extremely skilled surgeon. The show also frequently revolved around his bromance with the other main character, a big-hearted doctor named J.D. 

Faison has since shown off his versatility as an actor, playing more serious roles as well. From 2019 to 2020, he played Alex Evans in the mystery thriller series Emergence, a show about a young girl named who survives a plane crash and emerges with mysterious powers. Evans is the ex-husband of the main character, Jo, who adopted Piper. He's an environmental civil engineer with a talent for decoding, who is also in the midst of a custody battle for his daughter, Mia. 

Like many actors, Faison has faced struggles with typecasting throughout his career. 

"I'm still known as Turk," Faison said on Sway in the Morning in 2019. "When I went on the audition for Emergence, I remember going and meeting my wife at our kids' soccer practice after and telling her, 'Babe, I don't think they're going to give me the part. I honestly believe all they saw was Turk.'"

However, the Emergence casting directors clearly saw his range, and gave him a role on the show. 

Just like Dr. Turk, Faison is a family man in real life, as he is the father of six children.

“As my kids have gotten older, I’ve become … not more opinionated, but I feel like I’ve had to use my experiences in life to explain to them why what they’re doing isn’t going to work. But as far as being strict, no. And that’s good and bad,” the actor told PEOPLE of his parenting style. 

As for his character on Extended Family, Faison plays Trey, the owner of Jim’s favorite sports team, who also happens to start dating Julia. 

Extended Family won’t be Faison’s first stint on a multi-camera sitcom, as he also played the flirtatious sports agent Phil Case on The Exes.

“When you get the reaction from the audience, and it’s instant, and you start feeling the beats, and you start feeling the timing, and you start feeling the rhythm of the way the show moves, or of the jokes, or the way the audience is feeling that night; it makes it easier to come to work because you know you’re putting up a show every week. There’s something really cool about that,” he told Vulture in 2014 of filming in a traditional multi-camera setting.

Capanna is a newcomer to the television world. She made her acting debut in a television pilot, Bucktown. The show told the story of a woman named Amy (Shannon Woodward), who moves in with her mother, Helen (Jane Lynch) after breaking up with her boyfriend. Capanna played the role of Helen’s teenage daughter, Jodeci, who was described by Variety as someone who marches to the beat of her own drum and keeps a positive attitude in life despite facing many hardships. 

Ultimately, Bucktown was not picked up by the network for more episodes.

This will be Sweeney’s first main character television role. His other credits include John Berkman Jr. on Season 4, Episode 8 of Barry, which was the series finale. Sweeney was also in the 2016 series premiere of American Crime Story as Trevor Clark, the onscreen son of Marcia Clark, the lead prosecutor in the OJ Simpson case. Sweeney made another appearance with this role in the 3rd episode titled “The Dream Team.”

Sweeney also played the role of Katie’s son in the pilot episode of the new comedy series Platonic.

Extended Family premieres Saturday, December 23rd at 8/7c on NBC, with new weekly episodes returning Tuesday, January 2nd at 8:30/7:30c on NBC. All episodes will be available to stream next day on Peacock.