Alex Carson
Writer and Executive producer Dan Rubin, famous for his work on The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, takes the lead on the highly anticipated NBC reboot of Night Court. The series, which Is still in development, is a direct follow-up series to the classic legal comedy series. John Larroquette locks in to be reprising his Emmy-winning role as Dan Fielding and Melissa Rauch of The Big Bang Theory is taking on a production role for the sequel series alongside her husband Winton Rauch.
The show will essentially pick up where the original series left off. An unapologetically optimistic judge Abby Stone, daughter of her late father Harry T Stone, follows in his footsteps by presiding over the night shift of a New York arraignment court as she tries to maintain the peace amidst a sea of oddballs, flakes, and faultfinders that she must learn to work alongside.
A Subsidiary Of Warner Bros TV
Melissa and Winston Rauch’s After January production company, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. TV have taken on the task of producing the new series. The original series by the WB even though the series aired on NBC. At this time it seems as if there are no plans for Melissa Rauch to act in the project.
Rauch grew up as a fan of the show and initiated the production of the new series thinking that it would mesh well with audiences today. Night Court is just one of several projects in development by After January.
Rauch, who’s fresh off the set of CBS’s flagship comedy series The Big Bang Theory where she played Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz for 12 seasons, has been diversifying her Hollywood involvement in recent years. She appeared in Steven Soderbergh’s The Laundromat in 2019 and voiced historical figure Marie Antoinette in an episode of the 2020 reboot of Animaniacs.
The Bronze
In 2015 she and her husband wrote, produced, and starred in The Bronze, which was the opening night film showcased at that year’s Sundance Film Festival. Off-screen, she’s in and stars in the stage production of The Secret Lunches of Chelsea & Ivanka at Joe’s Pub in New York City.
Larroquette won four Best Supporting Actor Emmys for his role on the original Night Court. Larroquette won his fifth Emmy in 1998 for his recurring role on ABC’s The Practice. His most recent contributions to the world of show business include starring in CBS All Access’s The Good Fight and Me, Myself, and I on CBS.
Rubin worked on the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt for the show’s entire duration. He went on to collaborate with his fellow co-stars Tina Fey, Sam Means and Robert Carlock on the Netflix animated series Mulligan. Some of his other credits include his contributions to shows like Outmatched, Scrubs, and The Michael J. Fox Show.
New Night Court Series
It’s not completely clear as to when we might be able to catch episodes of the new Night Court series. Rumor has it that the series might premiere for the Fall 2021 season, but regardless we’re pretty excited to see what comes next. Hopefully, the new show can find the right balance of staying true to the original series while breaking new ground exploring new territory. Rebooting a beloved TV series can be risky business. I mean, have you seen the Macgyver remake? Brutal!
To celebrate the upcoming Night Court remake, let’s take a look at what made the original series so great. We’ve got some top-notch behind-the-scenes trivia for you, so make sure you stick around to learn them all.
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John Larroquette Was Too Good At What He Did
After Winning 4 Emmys for Best Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series, he requests that he’s no longer considering the coveted award. Can you imagine being so good at your job that you actually have to ask to be recognized less? Talking about living the dream right? He was subsequently offered his own spin-off series based upon his Dan Fielding character but decided to pursue other opportunists instead.
A Surprise Cameo By A Popular Singer
It’s briefly mentioned in the first episode that Harry stone is a huge fan of popular jazz-pop singer Mel Torme. Torme’s friends and family called him up after seeing the episode to tell him about his little shout out. He was so flattered by the reference that he agreed to come on the show for a cameo. He later revealed that the shout out and cameo widened his audience and gave his singing career a much needed second wave.
So Many Recasts
It’s not uncommon for some of the actors in a pilot episode to be replaced with better fits, but for Night Court, there was an unprecedented number of recasts that happened in the first season. Six female leads were brought in before the production team settled on Markie Post to play public defender Christine Sullivan. The only members of the cast to stick with the show from its pilot episode all the way to the series finale were Richard Moll, Harry Anderson, and John Larroquette.
The Cast Had To Pack Up And Leave Rather Abruptly
You would think that after 193 episodes the Cast of Night Court might have earned themselves a little respect from the studio, but after wrapping up taping of the final episode on a Friday, the entire crew were all sent messages informing them that if they didn’t have their dressing rooms cleared out by Monday then all of their belongings would be thrown in the trash.
The Opening Credits Remained The Same
Most shows will shake up their title sequences over consecutive seasons especially when they remain on the air for as long as Night Court did. But for all 9 seasons from 1984 to 1992, Night Court’s opening credits remained exactly the same. Each episode started off and closed with jazz-inspired music composed by Jack Elliott featuring Ernie Watts on saxophone. Footage of iconic NYC landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge and The New York County Courthouse preceded the show’s Title Card.
A Random Horror Movie Reference
There’s this episode where Dan is trapped inside of a motel room with a deranged woman. On the TV an announcer can be heard saying ‘We’ll return to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in just a minute’. Dan quips that he’s “seen that already”. In fact, John Larroquette narrated both the original film and the remake in 2003.
Roz Had To Be Recast Multiple Times Because of Deaths
Selma Diamond died shortly after filming wrapped up for season two. She was replaced by Florence Halop who the production team felt like was the perfect fit for the character. Halop, unfortunately, passed away after just one season of being on the show. After she died, the studio realized that they better pick a younger actress for the role. They eventually settle on Masha Warfield.
Harry Anderson Was A Real-Life Magician
Harry T. Stone was constantly playing around and pulling gags when he was supposed to be working. It’s a wonder that he was able to become a judge in the first place. At one point he explains that he landed the job because he was the only one home to accept the offer when the call came in for the Judge position.
Harry Anderson the actor who played Stone actually had something in common with the character that he played on the show. He was obsessed with magic. He studied sleight of hand and even made a living off of his performances before he became an actor.
Richard Moll’s Baldness
Bull Shannon is not the kind of guy that you’d want to pick a fight with. He was one massive dude, but his towering height wasn’t the only distinguishing feature that set him apart. When Moll showed up to audition, he had just shaved his hair for a film role. After meeting with the producers, they actually dug the chrome dome look and told him to keep it for the character. Now, most people that have any amount of appreciation for their hair might have found that request to be difficult, but Moll decided to bite the bullet and suffer for celluloid as it were. Sometimes an actor has to make some sacrifices for their work.
Markie Post Also Worked On Game Shows
Before finding her place in Hollywood as an Actress, Markie had previously worked on a number of game shows behind the scenes. The first job that she landed in show business was working on Split Second. She quickly moved up in the world. Her next job was as an associate producer for Double Dare. She also worked as a production assistant on Family Feud for a while.
In 1979, she got her first onscreen roll on a made-for-TV movie called Frankie and Annette: The Second Time Around. Even though she probably was one heck of a worker behind the scenes, Markie was destined to be in front of the camera. Honestly, Night Court wouldn’t have been the same without her radiance.
Yakov Smirnoff
During the cold war, Yakov Smirnoff, a Ukrainian born comedian experienced a great deal of popularity. He made a number of guest appearances on Night Court during the 1980s. His popularity began to decline significantly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and while he still tours and performs and even has his own theater in Branson, Missouri, he has largely shifted his focus to other endeavors. Today he teaches psychology in universities and gives self-help style seminars.
Harry Anderson On Saturday Night Live
Before he was one of the world’s most beloved Judges, Harry Anderson made a name for himself for his recurring appearances as a guest comedian on SNL. He would whip out his magic skills coupled with his child-like sense of humor and the audience would eat it up. Watching him on SNL revealed that he was in fact very much like the character that he played on Night Court.
Well, here we are once again at the end of another fact-packed video. Are you as excited as we are about the Night Court reboot? Hopefully, it actually materializes and doesn’t end up in production hell for years on end.
Anyway, we’d love to hear from you! Who was your favorite Night Court character, Judge Harry T, Stone, Christine Sulivan, or Dan Fielding? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
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