On Tuesday, January 17, NBC launches their revival of the classic 1984-1992 sitcom Night Court. The original series starred Harry Anderson as a newly installed judge, Harry Stone, who wasn’t immediately approved of by his peers, as he had youth and a penchant for magic and Mel Torme. Harry Stone was quickly embraced and was no stranger than the oddballs who would come in and out of the “night court.” Joining Harry in the original show were such characters as Markie Post’s Christine Sullivan, Richard Moll’s gentle giant bailiff “Bull,” Marsha Warfield’s no-nonsense Roz, and, of course, the lecherous prosecutor Dan Fielding as played by Emmy Award winner John Larroquette. There was also a banger theme song with awkward freeze frames that would introduce every episode of the series.
While it took a few seasons to perfect the original series cast, the formula worked rather quickly, and Night Court was a part of the early days of NBC’s legendary “Must See TV” lineup. Now, nearly four decades after the original series hit the air, NBC is launching a new version — and in the episodes that NBC has made available for press to screen, it’s immediately apparent that this is one of the better reboots or revivals of recent years. There are many reasons for this, the largest perhaps being that the creators of this new Night Court have distilled the feeling and the vibe of the original show with a host of almost all new characters.
Melissa Rauch of The Big Bang Theory fame leads this cast as Judge Abby Stone, the never-before-seen daughter of Harry Stone and a mother to be named later (rest assured, we do find out who her mother is within those first six episodes). She keeps her father’s open mind about justice and sense of fun, but rather than being a carbon copy of Harry Anderson’s character, she has her own quirks and views on life. Coming from Big Bang, Rauch has worked with some of the most successful writers and directors in that industry in addition to having a great amount of talent and comedy timing of her own, and as the star and as one of the Executive Producers of this new show, it seems she brought the right lessons from her time on such a successful series. A concept for a show is only as good as the characters and the actors chosen to portray them, and there is not a weak link in the new Night Court cast. Abby is a lot of fun and it’s especially interesting to see how she interacts with Dan — a character who can’t even think about disliking her because of his reverence for her father.
And speaking of Dan, John Larroquette is the only returning cast member from the original Night Court. This may have been a necessity as several cast members from the earlier series have since passed away, but it’s a very good thing for this show, as it’s not just the same characters retreading old territory. Best of all, though, this isn’t the Dan Fielding we knew decades ago. People evolve, and Dan has evolved. He’s still Dan; he’s still true to the original character, and just as much fun to watch and Larroquette has the same great presence he had in the 1980s, but we see how the decades have changed Dan. Amusingly, Dan is now a public defender, so we get to see a totally different side of him in that way, as well.
The prosecutor this time around is Olivia Moore (no relation to iZombie’s Liv Moore) as played by India de Beaufort. I enjoyed watching her on Kevin (Probably) Saves the World and One Day at a Time and it’s especially fun to see how Olivia interacts with the others. It’s almost as though Olivia puts on a facade around the other characters to try [usually unsuccessfully] to hide what she’s truly feeling.
Kapil Talwalkar (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist) plays Neil, the court clerk. Prior to Abby’s appointment to the court, he is the type who would take the night court job because it’s easy. He’s socially awkward at times, yet at the same time, he’s the most relatable of the bunch. I didn’t see much of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist so as an actor, he’s new to me, but I really like what the Neil character brings to the ensemble.
The final piece of the casting puzzle is Lacretta as “Gurgs” the bailiff. One of my favorite episodes of the group of screeners involves Gergs’ nephew coming in as a young “Justice Buddy” to see how the court works; it shows a lot about what she thinks of her family, and of other characters. There’s also an episode with a fun subplot involving Gurgs, Olivia, and office space. Again, like the others, she just fits.
While I praise the aspects of Night Court that are new and different from the original, the creators of this new version maintained two things that are essential (to me) for a successful reboot, beyond the general vibe. First, the sets look so much like what you’d see in the 1984-1992 version. The court room, Harry’s (now Abby’s) office, the lunch room, the hallway… the production designers went above and beyond to make it feel like it’s happening in the same place. Secondly, thanks to a composition by John Larroquette’s son Ben Larroquette, the theme music remains intact, albeit with a tasteful modernization. This also means that, unlike a lot of modern TV, we get opening titles! They’re shorter than the original sequence, but they’re there, and they’re great. They even have freeze frames, though they’re not as awkward this time!
Revivals like these are hit or miss. Some revivals are so bad that fans of the original shows forget they happened. Some pick up on shows that are in syndication for so long that it feels like bonus episodes of the original show. Others might air on a streaming service no one has ever heard of. Some just bring back the original cast to revive magic and chemistry that just isn’t there anymore. And then there are brilliant ones like One Day at a Time which featured virtually no original characters (aside from keeping one character name) but had the same feeling and mission statement as the original show that it worked beautifully. While Night Court may not be as well-seen by a younger generation, this show expertly distills the original feeling to such an extent that if you haven’t seen the original, you won’t be lost. You can just enjoy these new characters. But if you do know Dan, or remember Harry, and all of the antics that would happen in the court room, you’re in for a treat.
Night Court premieres Tuesday, January 17 on NBC.
