| Genre: | Sitcom |
| Creator: | Reinhold Weege |
| Developer: | Dan Rubin |
| Theme Music Composer: | Jack Elliott |
| Composer: | Benjamin Sword Larroquette |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 3 |
| Num Episodes: | 32 |
| Camera: | Multi-camera |
| Runtime: | 21–23 minutes |
| Network: | NBC |
| Related: | Night Court (1984–1992) |
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 premiered on November 19, 2024.[1]
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)
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.[4]
On May 3, 2021, the series was given a pilot order by NBC,[5] [6] and on September 24, 2021, was given a series order.[7] On February 2, 2023, NBC renewed the series for a second season.[8] On May 3, 2024, NBC renewed the series for an 18-episode third season.[9]
Larroquette was already attached to the series when it was announced on December 16, 2020.[4] Although Rauch was not originally expected to act in the show,[4] 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.[10]
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.[11] [12] In July 2021, Kapil Talwalkar was cast as Neil, a court clerk.[13]
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.[14] On December 28, 2023, it was announced that Kapil Talwalkar will not be returning for the second season.[15] On January 18, 2024, it was reported that Nyambi Nyambi was promoted to a series regular.[16]
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.[17] On May 21, 2024, it was announced that de Beaufort is not returning for the third season.[18] On July 10, 2024, Wendie Malick was promoted as a series regular for the third season.[19]
Night Court was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, but it is set in New York City, New York.
Night Court premiered on NBC on January 17, 2023.[20] The second season premiered on December 23, 2023.[21] [22] The third season premiered on November 19, 2024.[23]
Night Court: The Complete First Season was released in Region 1 on October 17, 2023 by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.[24]
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 Courts 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."[25] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 62 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[26]
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."[27]