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''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. 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 premiered on November 19, 2024. In May 2025, the series was canceled after three seasons due to low viewership.

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 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. Court prosecutors include ambitious Olivia Moore ( India de Beaufort) and later vengeful ex-con Julianne Walters (Wendie Malick). Court clerks include shy Neil ( Kapil Talwalkar), and later harried single father Wyatt ( Nyambi Nyambi).

Cast and characters

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. In "Pension Tension", it is revealed that Abby's middle initial is "T" like her father Harry's was, though she adds that it stands for "Torme", after singer Mel Torme, who Harry (as well as Harry Anderson himself) was a big fan of.
* India de Beaufort as Olivia (seasons 1–2), the assistant district attorney assigned to Abby's court
* Kapil Talwalkar as Neil Valluri (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. Despite giving up his skirt chasing ways, he retains his sarcastic wit. Dan briefly leaves Abby's court to become a judge in his home state of Louisiana, though he returns both to New York and his public defender job at the start of the second season. Larroquette reprises his role from the original series.
* Nyambi Nyambi as Wyatt Shaw (seasons 2–3), court clerk with great fashion sense who is also a single father
* Wendie Malick as Julianne (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

* Gary Anthony Williams as Murray Flobert, an eccentric judge who substituted for Abby
* Pete Holmes as Rand, Abby's fiancé
* Ryan Hansen as Jake, Abby's boyfriend
* Marsha Warfield as Roz, a former bailiff of Judge Harry Stone's court, now working as a private investigator, and who briefly takes back her bailiff position to obtain her pension
* Brent Spiner and Annie O'Donnell as Bob and June Wheeler, a frequently down on their luck hillbilly couple. Spiner and O'Donnell reprise their roles from the original series
* Dimiter Marinov as Nikolai, the court's maintenance man
* Betsy Sodaro as Bert, the courthouse's head janitor
* Al Bayan as Blaine
* Biff Wiff as Kenny
* Pam Murphy as Pam Allen
* Janie Haddad Tompkins as Esther
* Kurt Fuller as Jeff Dewitt, a New York district attorney
* Carol Mansell as Louise
* Lisa Costanza as Carol
* Indira G. Wilson as Loretta
* Kenneth Mosley as Devin
* Jaime Moyer as Linda
* Jessica St. Clair as Heather, Abby's friend
* Richard Kind as Sy Hoffman, a disgraced Broadway producer
* Kate Micucci as Carol Ann Wheeler, Bob and June's daughter
* Julia Duffy as Susan, Jake's mother
* Ray Abruzzo as Carl Santini, a reformed mobster dating Julianne. Abruzzo previously played Detective Tony Giuliano in the original series, in which he was married to public defender Christine Sullivan and was the father of their daughter.

Guest stars

* Iris Bahr as Jane
* Kimia Behpoornia as Maggie
* Marypat Farrell as Helen
* Brian Scolaro as Arnold
* Antonio Raul Corbo as Carlos
* Tara Lipinski as Herself
* Johnny Weir as Himself
* Faith Ford as Gina Stone, Abby's mother and Harry's widow
* Stephnie Weir as Remecca Monte-Pulciano, an investigative podcaster
* Frances Callier as Ernie
* Melissa Villaseñor as Gabby, Neil's girlfriend
* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as Himself
* Maria Bamford as The Ghost of Christmas Present
* Jackie Geary as Tess
* Biff Yeager as Remy
* Jackie Hoffman as Linda
* John Gemberling as Bryant
* Jeff Meacham as Mr. Umansky
* Rob Huebel as Pellino
* Paul Scheer as Carnes
* Kunal Nayyar as Martini Toddwallis, a famous fashion designer
* Jenifer Lewis as Erika Ellis
* Sarah Baker as Tiff
* Ashley Padilla as Mitzi
* Melissa Fumero as Jasmine Jennings
* Julia Sweeney as Jovan, a Fortune-telling
* Rhys Darby as Alistair Tully, Gurg's boyfriend
* Dave Foley as Duncan
* Gigi Rice as Katie Sullivan, Christine Sullivan's sister
* Andy Daly as Fred Norton, a salesman
* Joe Lo Truglio as Detective Kratz, a New York Police Department detective
* Mayim Bialik as Herself
* Kate Flannery as Marge
* Gilles Marini as Rodrigo, Julianne's soulmate
* Lauren Lapkus as Belinda
* Andrew Rannells as Tad
* Nico Santos as Dr. Nitelife
* Eden Sher as Madison
* Andrew Patrick Ralston as Daddy
* Mo Collins as Starla
* Wesley Mann as Mr. Danielson
* Laura Spencer as Lucy
* George Basil as Goose
* Jason Sklar as Ryan
* Randy Sklar as Bryan
* Simon Helberg as Spencer, Abby's husband
* Michael Urie as Judge Toby Nulman, the courthouse's new "fun judge"
* Raegan Revord as Shelby, a teenage runaway inclined to marry her soulmate

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2023)

Season 2 (2023–24)

Season 3 (2024–25)

Production

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. On May 9, 2025, NBC canceled the series after three seasons.

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.

Release

Broadcast

''Night Court'' premiered on NBC on January 17, 2023. The second season premiered on December 23, 2023. The third season premiered 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.

Reception

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."

Ratings

Overall

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Notes

References

External links

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* {{IMDb title

2020s American multi-camera sitcoms
2020s American legal television series
2020s American workplace comedy television series
2023 American television series debuts
2025 American television series endings
American sequel television series
American English-language television shows
Legal comedies
Television series by Universal Television
Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios
Television shows set in Manhattan
NBC sitcoms
Night Court
Works set in courtrooms