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. In February 2023, the series was renewed for a second season which then premiered on December 23, 2023. In May 2024, the series was renewed for a third season which is set to premiere on November 19, 2024.

Premise
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 once 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 a 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.

Main

 * Melissa Rauch as Abby Stone, the daughter of the late Harry Stone, who fills her father's former position as judge on the night shift at the Manhattan Criminal Court. In "Blood Moon Binga", she learns her full name is Abracadabra Stone, though she believed it was Abigail, the name she uses.
 * India de Beaufort as Olivia (seasons 1–2), the assistant district attorney assigned to Abby's court
 * Kapil Talwalkar as Neil (season 1), Abby's clerk
 * Lacretta as Donna "Gurgs" Gurganous, the bailiff for Abby's court
 * John Larroquette as Dan Fielding, the former assistant district attorney for Harry's court and his best friend, who comes back to serve as the public defender in Abby's court. Formerly a sex-obsessed "ladies' man", Dan settled down in the mid 1990s marrying a woman named Sarah, who died shortly before the revival series began. Though giving up his skirt chasing ways, he does retain his sarcastic wit. Dan briefly left Abby's court to become a judge in his home state of Louisiana, though returned both to New York and his public defender job at the start of the second season.
 * Nyambi Nyambi as Wyatt Shaw (season 2), court clerk
 * Wendie Malick as Julianne Walters (season 3; recurring seasons 1–2), the new district attorney who is also a former career criminal intent on ruining Dan's life as revenge for prosecuting her years ago

Recurring

 * Dimiter Marinov as Nikolai
 * Pete Holmes as Rand, Abby's fiancé
 * Gary Anthony Williams as Flobert, an eccentric judge who substituted for Abby in her absence, and would later serve as clerk in Abby's court in the interim period between Neil's departure and Wyatt's arrival.
 * Pam Murphy as Pam
 * Marsha Warfield as Roz, a former bailiff of Judge Harry Stone's court, now working as a private investigator.
 * Ryan Hansen as Jake, Abby's boyfriend
 * Kurt Fuller as Jeff Dewitt, New York district attorney

Guest stars

 * Brian Scolaro as Arnold
 * Antonio Raul Corbo as Carlos
 * Stephnie Weir as Remecca Monte-Pulciano
 * Betsy Sodaro as Bert
 * Frances Callier as Ernie
 * Lyric Lewis as Cynthia
 * Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir as themselves
 * Faith Ford as Gina Stone, Abby's mother and Harry's widow
 * Melissa Villaseñor as Gabby, Neil's girlfriend
 * Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as himself
 * Maria Bamford as The Ghost of Christmas Present
 * Marcus Bailey as Ranger Doug
 * John Gemberling as Bryant
 * Jackie Hoffman as Linda
 * Rob Huebel as Pellino
 * Paul Scheer as Carnes
 * Jessica St. Clair as Heather
 * Kunal Nayyar as Martini Toddwallis
 * Jenifer Lewis as Erika Ellis
 * Sarah Baker as Tiff
 * Richard Kind as Sy Feldman
 * Melissa Fumero as Jasmine
 * Brent Spiner and Annie O'Donnell as Bob and June Wheeler
 * Kate Micucci as Carol Ann Wheeler
 * Julia Sweeney as Jovan
 * Rhys Darby as Alistair Tully
 * Dave Foley as Duncan
 * Gigi Rice as Katie Sullivan, Christine Sullivan's sister
 * Julia Duffy as Susan

Development
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.

On May 3, 2021, the series was given a pilot order by NBC, and on September 24, 2021, was given a series order. On February 2, 2023, NBC renewed the series for a second season. On May 3, 2024, NBC renewed the series for an 18-episode third season.

Casting
Larroquette was already attached to the series when it was announced on December 16, 2020. Although Rauch was not originally expected to act in the show, 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.

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. In July 2021, Kapil Talwalkar was cast as Neil, a court clerk.

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. On December 28, 2023, it was announced that Kapil Talwalkar will not be returning for the second season. On January 18, 2024, it was reported that Nyambi Nyambi was promoted to a series regular.

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. On May 21, 2024, it was announced that de Beaufort is not returning for the third season. On July 10, 2024, Wendie Malick was promoted as a series regular for the third season.

Filming
Night Court was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, but it is set in New York City, New York.

Broadcast
Night Court premiered on NBC on January 17, 2023. The second season premiered on December 23, 2023. The third season is scheduled to premiere on November 19, 2024.

Home media
Night Court: The Complete First Season was released in Region 1 on October 17, 2023 by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

Critical response
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." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 62 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

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."