Night Court (2023 TV series)
Night Court is an American sitcom, a revival of the series of the same name that originally aired from 1984 to 1992. It premiered on NBC on January 17, 2023. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Melissa Rauch's performance.[1] In February 2023, the series was renewed for a second season,[2] which then premiered on December 23, 2023.[3][4]
Night Court
Dan Rubin
Melissa Rauch
Benjamin Sword Larroquette
United States
English
2
29
- Pamela Fryman
- Winston Rauch
- Melissa Rauch
- Dan Rubin
- Lon Zimmet
- Mathew Harawitz
- John Larroquette (season 2)
- Leila Strachan
- John Larroquette (season 1)
- Suzy Mamann Greenberg
- Josh Corey & Brian Kratz
- Pixie Wespiser
- Julie Mandel-Folly
- Christian La Fountaine (pilot)
- Wayne Kennan
- Kirk Benson (pilot)
- Chris Poulos
- Stephen Prime
21–23 minutes
January 17, 2023 –
present
Premise[edit]
Judge Abby Stone (Melissa Rauch) comes to New York City to take a job as magistrate for Manhattan Criminal Court's night shift – a position held by her late father Harry Stone. Also part of the night shift are ambitious prosecutor Olivia Moore (India de Beaufort), cheerful and eccentric bailiff Donna "Gurgs" Gurganous (Lacretta), and public defender Dan Fielding (John Larroquette) – who had served as prosecutor in Harry's court, and was convinced by Abby to join her court when the assigned public defender quit on Abby's first day. Dan briefly left to become a judge in his home state of Louisiana, though would later come back as public defender.
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
On December 16, 2020, it was announced that Warner Bros. Television Studios and NBC were developing a Night Court sequel series. John Larroquette was slated to reprise his role as Dan Fielding, and produce the show. Melissa Rauch, who initiated the project, and her husband Winston Rauch were to be executive producers, for After January Productions. Dan Rubin would write the series, and be an executive producer as well.[39]
On May 3, 2021, the series was given a pilot order by NBC,[40][41] and on September 24, 2021, was given a series order.[42] The series premiered on January 17, 2023.[1] On February 2, 2023, NBC renewed the series for a second season,[2] which then premiered on December 23, 2023.[3][4]
Casting[edit]
Larroquette was already attached to the series when it was announced on December 16, 2020.[39] Although Rauch was not originally expected to act in the show,[39] on April 30, 2021, it was reported that she would play the leading role of Judge Abby Stone, the daughter of the original series character Harry Stone.[43]
In June 2021, Ana Villafañe joined the cast as Monica, an assistant district attorney, and Lacretta was cast as Donna "Gurgs" Gurganous, a court bailiff.[44][45] In July 2021, Kapil Talwalkar was cast as Neil, a court clerk.[46]
Villafañe left the series after shooting the original pilot. In March 2022, India de Beaufort was cast as Olivia, a prosecutor, in a "reimagining" of Villafañe's role, as a second pilot episode was then shot.[47] On December 28, 2023, it was announced that Kapil Talwalkar will not be returning for the second season.[6] On January 18, 2024, it was reported that Nyambi Nyambi was promoted to a series regular.[7]
On February 13, 2024, while talking to reporters, John Larroquette admitted feeling a little sad when he first walked on the set of the Night Court revival, due to being one of the only cast members from the original run still living. But as time went on, he started feeling better and credited co-star/executive producer Melissa Rauch for rejuvenating the franchise.[48]
Filming[edit]
Night Court was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, but it is set in New York City, New York.
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 74% approval rating with an average rating of 6.5/10, based on 23 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "This revival retains enough of the original Night Court's spirit to ward off objections from fans while offering a somewhat stale sitcom format to newcomers, but it ought to sustain interest when judged alongside its own peers."[49] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 62 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[50]
William Hughes of The A.V. Club gave the series a B and said, "If you're curious about it, don't let the pilot throw you off, at least; check back in a few episodes later, once the show has actually hit its (often pretty funny) comedic stride."[51]