"Night Court" reboot...

[Mike Honcho 4,009]

2 minutes ago, Bert said:

I will be looking for reviews from you and posty tomorrow.

I DVR everything but sports so I can skip commercials, but if I get to it tomorrow, I'll post something. 

[TBayXXXVII 2,106]

I'll dvr it.  Won't be home when it's on, but I'll give it a try.

[Bert 1,087]

3 minutes ago, Mike Honcho said:

I DVR everything but sports so I can skip commercials, but if I get to it tomorrow, I'll post something. 

[wiffleball 4,631]

John Laroquette is great. But man, you almost never hear Phil Hartman doing anything lately.

 

Pretty much single-handedly made news radio.

[Hardcore troubadour 12,588]

Um,  there can be spoilers for a sit com? Don’t you kinda know what’s going to happen in the first five? 

[BeenHereBefore 1,329]

6 hours ago, wiffleball said:

John Laroquette is great. But man, you almost never hear Phil Hartman doing anything lately.

 

Pretty much single-handedly made news radio.

I think Phil was on a few EP's of last season The Walking Dead.

[BeenHereBefore 1,329]

4 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

Um,  there can be spoilers for a sit com? Don’t you kinda know what’s going to happen in the first five? 

That skanky lib chic from TBBT becomes the judge and later on in EP3 Dan finds out she's his daughter.

[wiffleball 4,631]

7 minutes ago, BeenHereBefore said:

That skanky lib chic from TBBT becomes the judge and later on in EP3 Dan finds out she's his daughter.

Which one? Also, bear in mind I've never watched one full episode of tbbt in my entire life.  Blossom?  The fat blonde? Or the mildly cute blonde? 

[BeenHereBefore 1,329]

4 minutes ago, wiffleball said:

Which one? Also, bear in mind I've never watched one full episode of tbbt in my entire life.  Blossom?  The fat blonde? Or the mildly cute blonde? 

Howard's girlfriend.

[WhiteWonder 2,171]

From the 10-15 minutes I saw I can say I won’t be watching any more. 

[Mike Honcho 4,009]

12 hours ago, BeenHereBefore said:

That skanky lib chic from TBBT becomes the judge and later on in EP3 Dan finds out she's his daughter.

"skanky lib chic" who was some kind of chemistry engineer at a big pharmaceutical company selling mood altering drugs.  I don't think you watched much of that show.    

[Mike Honcho 4,009]

23 hours ago, Bert said:

I will be looking for reviews from you and posty tomorrow.

Episode 1.  Usual pilot episode quality.  Clearly whoever green-lit production saw John Larroquette and a formerly popular property and said cha-ching!  Rauch's character seems like a Harry Anderson lite, none of the kookiness or charm, just positive motivations machine. The only supporting character that stood out was the black woman bailiff and that was because she was overly annoying and dumb.  Prosecuting attorney doesn't seem to have any real motivation or history and was generally bland.  Clerk of courts role seems like it has a little potential.  Overall a 4, and that's generous and grading on a curve since it's a pilot.  

Episode 2. Maybe 2 decent jokes, characters still being fleshed out.  Larroquette seems to be sliding back into the character that we remember---but if I'm writing the show, he'd be full-on being a sleazy defense attorney.  Two big problems I see so far is that none of the characters are "CHARACTERS"---like thelma/selma, other than the bailiff who I'm guessing is supposed to be a female Bull, but she's just playing it dumb, not naive-dumb like Richard Mol did it and I find it just unfunny. Problem two is that the characters on the first show generated conflict just because of who they are, these characters don't have any sense of conflict or urgency to them.

Best scenes were the few courtroom scenes and an argument between Rauch and Larroquette, but nothing to write home about...and then in the end there was slapstick---not a good sign.

Generally when I watch new shows, I give the show and the writers about 8-12 to find the voices of the characters(not everything is Breaking Bad and good from the jump), think The Office or Parks and Rec.  I'll stick with it for a few weeks, but  right now, in's not a recommend. 

[Bert 1,087]

2 hours ago, Mike Honcho said:

Episode 1.  Usual pilot episode quality.  Clearly whoever green-lit production saw John Larroquette and a formerly popular property and said cha-ching!  Rauch's character seems like a Harry Anderson lite, none of the kookiness or charm, just positive motivations machine. The only supporting character that stood out was the black woman bailiff and that was because she was overly annoying and dumb.  Prosecuting attorney doesn't seem to have any real motivation or history and was generally bland.  Clerk of courts role seems like it has a little potential.  Overall a 4, and that's generous and grading on a curve since it's a pilot.  

Episode 2. Maybe 2 decent jokes, characters still being fleshed out.  Larroquette seems to be sliding back into the character that we remember---but if I'm writing the show, he'd be full-on being a sleazy defense attorney.  Two big problems I see so far is that none of the characters are "CHARACTERS"---like thelma/selma, other than the bailiff who I'm guessing is supposed to be a female Bull, but she's just playing it dumb, not naive-dumb like Richard Mol did it and I find it just unfunny. Problem two is that the characters on the first show generated conflict just because of who they are, these characters don't have any sense of conflict or urgency to them.

Best scenes were the few courtroom scenes and an argument between Rauch and Larroquette, but nothing to write home about...and then in the end there was slapstick---not a good sign.

Generally when I watch new shows, I give the show and the writers about 8-12 to find the voices of the characters(not everything is Breaking Bad and good from the jump), think The Office or Parks and Rec.  I'll stick with it for a few weeks, but it's right now, in's not a recommend. 

Thanks 

[jerryskids 5,169]

The teasers during the football games looked turrble; unless someone says otherwise Ima pass.  

[Reality 2,710]

On 12/16/2020 at 12:41 PM, Reality said:

Man, what a great show this was back in the day. Think I'll just go ahead and remember it fondly and not watch whatever this monstrosity will be.

[posty 2,296]

9 hours ago, Mike Honcho said:

Episode 1.  Usual pilot episode quality.  Clearly whoever green-lit production saw John Larroquette and a formerly popular property and said cha-ching!  Rauch's character seems like a Harry Anderson lite, none of the kookiness or charm, just positive motivations machine. The only supporting character that stood out was the black woman bailiff and that was because she was overly annoying and dumb.  Prosecuting attorney doesn't seem to have any real motivation or history and was generally bland.  Clerk of courts role seems like it has a little potential.  Overall a 4, and that's generous and grading on a curve since it's a pilot.  

Episode 2. Maybe 2 decent jokes, characters still being fleshed out.  Larroquette seems to be sliding back into the character that we remember---but if I'm writing the show, he'd be full-on being a sleazy defense attorney.  Two big problems I see so far is that none of the characters are "CHARACTERS"---like thelma/selma, other than the bailiff who I'm guessing is supposed to be a female Bull, but she's just playing it dumb, not naive-dumb like Richard Mol did it and I find it just unfunny. Problem two is that the characters on the first show generated conflict just because of who they are, these characters don't have any sense of conflict or urgency to them.

Best scenes were the few courtroom scenes and an argument between Rauch and Larroquette, but nothing to write home about...and then in the end there was slapstick---not a good sign.

Generally when I watch new shows, I give the show and the writers about 8-12 to find the voices of the characters(not everything is Breaking Bad and good from the jump), think The Office or Parks and Rec.  I'll stick with it for a few weeks, but it's right now, in's not a recommend. 

Totally agree and could the cast be any more diverse?  Nothing wrong with that, but it really looked like they tried to make sure not to have a white male in it, other than Larroquette...

I usually give a new show about four episodes to get the feel of it, but it better improve quickly...  Rauch just doesn't seem like a good lead at all, she would be better served as a secondary character IMO...

As for the black bailiff, I really think they pushed it to make her be dumb like Bull, it just doesn't work and makes it look she is a complete idiot...  The prosecuting attorney could have been completely removed from the show and wouldn't have been missed...  And I don't recall the original EVER having the stenographer speak, but they had both of them with multiple lines in these two episodes...

[Strike 3,949]

Rarely do I watch network television any more.  The only network shows currently on the menu are Survivor and Amazing Race, both reality shows.  Just haven't seen any compelling scripted shows from network television in a long time.

[TommyGavin 788]

Was terrible 

[TBayXXXVII 2,106]

4 hours ago, jerryskids said:

The teasers during the football games looked turrble; unless someone says otherwise Ima pass.  

Good decision.  I DVR'd the first two episodes and came to the same conclusions that Honcho did.

[Ron 'Tator Salad' White 82]

Sure it’s doing bad due to the cis white males. Racism!!

[BeenHereBefore 1,329]

Watched the 1st one not horrible but not good either and didn't chuckle once. Will give the 2nd one a shot later tonight.

[kozmiq 70]

Mho is the show(s) appear to be well written for network comedy.  I doubt that I'll be watching it past these 2 episodes.  Maybe if my TV wasn't cable and there were only 3 channels to watch.  Even then, meh.

[posty 2,296]

Episode three is tonight at 8pm ET...  I wonder how this one will turn out?

I usually give new series 3-4 shows to see if there is anything worth watching, tonight might be make or break...

[Mike Honcho 4,009]

Episode 3.  The highlight of the show was the cold open, I chuckled, but it was 90% Dan reliant. The dumb bailiff was given a few more dumb moments, but actually had a couple of moments where I appreciated the work the actress was doing.  Still, very far from a complete character. The DA is a mess, either she was terribly miscast, or more cynically she's a terrible actress. It doesn't help that that her story line was incredibly stupid.  I'm still on the fence about the clerk of courts, but the actor seems to be doing the best he can with the material he's got.

Now to Melissa Rauch/Abby Stone.  Problem 1, she's a boring 'Mary Sue' wanna be.  Make the world better, dig deeper into criminals and find out reason for their crimes...it's boring, flat and one long boring note. If it were me writing and I was going to do that, then go all-in, but you need some conflict, like that everyone else in the building just wants to go home, or the DA flat out hates crime and wants them all to get the chair...while Dan doesn't care, except that he wants a winning record as a defense attorney, but right now it's missing conflict. 

Finally, structurally this episode came off as an after school special, starring Dan Fielding as the understanding Dad(only in the third act). They added a moment of character development for Rauch---but so far it's nothing we've seen in previous episodes as affecting her character. Doubt the writers/producers have the guts to actually use it going forward. And lastly, the writers missed a huge joke.  The clerk of courts gets cup cakes for the office, and the only baker open that late specializes in porn pastries.  Dan unwittingly opens the box and is quasii-taken back, when his reaction should have been "Oh you got these from Enzo's, delicious".  

I'll go a few more episodes and see if it improves this year, but if not, I'm out for the year.  If it gets picked up for another season, I'll probably see if they course correct like The Office or Parks and Rec did, but it's still a "not recommend". 

[posty 2,296]

Yeah I was not impressed at all...  Maybe a chuckle here and there, but it is always with Larroquette...  I agree with you, one or two more and if it doesn't get better, I'm out...

I did notice the court reporter was different again, but zero lines...  I wonder if they are going to have a different one each episode like Murphy Brown did with secretaries?

[posty 2,296]

Night Court opened the night with 5 million viewers and a 0.7 demo rating, down 32 and 26 percent from its boffo, double-episode debut (which aired opposite an FBI rerun). American Auto‘s sophomore opener retained just 2.4 mil and a 0.4, matching its demo low.

[posty 2,296]

@Mike Honcho

Did you watch last night's episode yet?

I maybe let out a "ha" one time...

I will give it one more episode and then I am probably done...  I don't think Rauch is able to be the headliner of a show...  She might be, but the ADA, clerk and bailiff just really kills any chance IMO...

[kozmiq 70]

10 minutes ago, posty said:

@Mike Honcho

Did you watch last night's episode yet?

I maybe let out a "ha" one time...

I will give it one more episode and then I am probably done...  I don't think Rauch is able to be the headliner of a show...  She might be, but the ADA, clerk and bailiff just really kills any chance IMO...

You watched this with the Caps on and Curse of Oak Island ?  My question is WHY ?

[Mike Honcho 4,009]

13 minutes ago, posty said:

@Mike Honcho

Did you watch last night's episode yet?

I maybe let out a "ha" one time...

I will give it one more episode and then I am probably done...  I don't think Rauch is able to be the headliner of a show...  She might be, but the ADA, clerk and bailiff just really kills any chance IMO...

Watched it while I did my 3 miles on the treadmill this morning, made it seem like 10 miles.  Only moments I found interesting were the interactions between Wendie Malick and Laroquette. Made me realize how awful all the other characters/actors are...Malick in a guest spot was more interesting, commanded attention and had comic chops the rest of the cast could only dream of.  You are spot-on with Rauch, she can't carry a show. As a kooky over-the-top side character on the TBBT, small doses, fine, but this isn't working. And the ADA, she can't act at all,  not that it would matters, Caroline Burnett couldn't make what's she's given funny.

One last thing, evolved 'Dan'(wife changed me) is as you kids say 'too woke'. Heck, Dan just being Dan in today's woke world would at least be something interesting. And if I'm writing the ending, Dan rejects Malick, Malick comes clean about the revenge plot, & being declared criminally insane,..changes Dan's mind and now he has to be with her. 

I might continue to only to hate watch at this point. 

[kozmiq 70]

9 minutes ago, Mike Honcho said:

Watched it while I did my 3 miles on the treadmill this morning, made it seem like 10 miles.  Only moments I found interesting were the interactions between Wendie Malick and Laroquette. Made me realize how awful all the other characters/actors are...Malick in a guest spot was more interesting, commanded attention and had comic chops the rest of the cast could only dream of.  You are spot-on with Rauch, she can't carry a show. As a kooky over-the-top side character on the TBBT, small doses, fine, but this isn't working. And the ADA, she can't act at all,  not that it would matters, Caroline Burnett couldn't make what's she's given funny.

One last thing, evolved 'Dan'(wife changed me) is as you kids say 'too woke'. Heck, Dan just being Dan in today's woke world would at least be something interesting. And if I'm writing the ending, Dan rejects Malick, Malick comes clean about the revenge plot, & being declared criminally insane,..changes Dan's mind and now he has to be with her. 

I might continue to only to hate watch at this point. 

I saw the name Wendie Malick and recognized it but couldn't remember anything about her so I Googled her name; my God she's been in a lot of shows but nothing I'd ever seen until I scrolled down and down and down and down and there it was = HBOs Dream On from 19 fuching 90.  Gezus, she's 70 fuching 2 years old.

[posty 2,296]

23 minutes ago, Mike Honcho said:

Watched it while I did my 3 miles on the treadmill this morning, made it seem like 10 miles.  Only moments I found interesting were the interactions between Wendie Malick and Laroquette. Made me realize how awful all the other characters/actors are...Malick in a guest spot was more interesting, commanded attention and had comic chops the rest of the cast could only dream of.  You are spot-on with Rauch, she can't carry a show. As a kooky over-the-top side character on the TBBT, small doses, fine, but this isn't working. And the ADA, she can't act at all,  not that it would matters, Caroline Burnett couldn't make what's she's given funny.

One last thing, evolved 'Dan'(wife changed me) is as you kids say 'too woke'. Heck, Dan just being Dan in today's woke world would at least be something interesting. And if I'm writing the ending, Dan rejects Malick, Malick comes clean about the revenge plot, & being declared criminally insane,..changes Dan's mind and now he has to be with her. 

I might continue to only to hate watch at this point. 

I agree, Malick and Larroquette's interaction was it...

I do think the one issue is that it is on at 8pm instead of the 9pm or 9:30pm that the original ran as one could be a little more daring in the later time slot...  But even though Larroquette is the best of the show, it being 2023, and on network television, killed on what he could be again...  Even if they did bring that back, the other actors are too awful to assist for sure...

One thing that I did catch, was one of the fish was named "Zazzle" and Sheldon had one of his cats named "Zazzles" in TBBT...

[Mike Honcho 4,009]

10 minutes ago, posty said:

I agree, Malick and Larroquette's interaction was it...

I do think the one issue is that it is on at 8pm instead of the 9pm or 9:30pm that the original ran as one could be a little more daring in the later time slot...  But even though Larroquette is the best of the show, it being 2023, and on network television, killed on what he could be again...  Even if they did bring that back, the other actors are too awful to assist for sure...

One thing that I did catch, was one of the fish was named "Zazzle" and Sheldon had one of his cats named "Zazzles" in TBBT...

Good meta catch, totally missed it, but I remember the Zazzles episode of TBBT.  

[TBayXXXVII 2,106]

On 1/25/2023 at 3:02 PM, posty said:

Night Court opened the night with 5 million viewers and a 0.7 demo rating, down 32 and 26 percent from its boffo, double-episode debut (which aired opposite an FBI rerun). American Auto‘s sophomore opener retained just 2.4 mil and a 0.4, matching its demo low.

I guess I'm a part of the "down 32 and 26 percent".  I watched the first 2 episodes.  I won't be watching any more.  Really disappointing.

[TBayXXXVII 2,106]

57 minutes ago, kozmiq said:

I saw the name Wendie Malick and recognized it but couldn't remember anything about her so I Googled her name; my God she's been in a lot of shows but nothing I'd ever seen until I scrolled down and down and down and down and there it was = HBOs Dream On from 19 fuching 90.  Gezus, she's 70 fuching 2 years old.

I remember her from David Spade's show, Just Shoot Me.

[BeenHereBefore 1,329]

2 hours ago, kozmiq said:

I saw the name Wendie Malick and recognized it but couldn't remember anything about her so I Googled her name; my God she's been in a lot of shows but nothing I'd ever seen until I scrolled down and down and down and down and there it was = HBOs Dream On from 19 fuching 90.  Gezus, she's 70 fuching 2 years old.

She really is in everything and at least a EP or two in almost every sitcom in the last 20 years. Was switching the channels the other night and here she is on a EP of Mom and then Fraiser on another channel.

[Mike Honcho 4,009]

Okay, on the way home I conceptualized Night Court 2023. 

Abby Stone, a once promising law/judicial career has gone kaput after her becoming an alcoholic,. In honor of her late father(someone---can't be Mac or Markie Post  ) , she is given one last chance to turn things around in the same night court her father worked.  That same person recruits Dan back into the court, to watch out for her. Dan is put in the very strange but awkwardly funny position of having to be the one with the conscience now.  Abby's a self destructive train wreck and he's trying to stop that from happening out of a loyalty to Harry.

Dan would return as a DA, antagonized by an overly woke defense attorney who's every defense is some woke BS(instant conflict).  Bailiff lady can return, but in a role that is in no way at all inspired by Bull. Actress who plays the DA now is gone, cause she can't act.  Still fleshing out the clerk of courts, but most likely someone caught in the crossfire of the hi-jinx. 

Someone get Melissa Rauch's people to call me. 

[posty 2,296]

We must be missing something...

'Night Court' Is Back, and America Is Tuning In

https://www.yahoo.com/news/night-court-back-america-tuning-123239867.html

In recent years, network executives have rebooted and revived decades-old TV series at will, all in the hope of finding a born-again hit.

Classic series like “Magnum P.I.,” “Murphy Brown,” “The X-Files” and “Roseanne,” to name just a few, have all been exhumed and brought back to life, some with the original casts, others with new ones.

It took a long while for “Night Court,” a popular but not quite chart-topping 1980s sitcom, to get its shot. So far it is, somewhat inexplicably, paying off.

The first three episodes of NBC’s “Night Court” revival scored the highest ratings of any new network comedy in four years. The show is averaging 6.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen, and the first episode, which premiered Jan. 17, has drawn more than 16 million viewers when delayed and streaming viewing is included, NBC said.

While it is still early, studio executives and producers behind the revival believe the show has found its audience. But the initial results for “Night Court” — which ran for 193 episodes from 1984 to 1992 — have also left them a bit dazed.

“I was a combination of absolutely stunned and unbelievably thrilled” when the first ratings arrived, said Channing Dungey, chair of Warner Bros. Television, one of the studios behind the series.

Melissa Rauch, who stars as the judge in “Night Court” and is an executive producer of the series, said, “When I saw the numbers, I honestly thought there was a typo.”

Though garnering an audience of more than 6 million people qualifies as a standout performance in network TV these days, that’s a far cry from the sizes of audiences that used to tune in — four decades ago or even four years ago. New network sitcoms have also had trouble breaking out of the pack in recent years as viewers have gravitated to streaming.

The new “Night Court,” like the original, takes place at an after-hours Manhattan arraignment court and centers on the characters that populate it: the judge, the lawyers, the bailiffs, the stenographers, the scofflaws. The lone returning cast member is John Larroquette, reprising his role as sharp-tongued lawyer Dan Fielding. The last time viewers saw him, he was a 45-year-old prosecutor. Now he’s a 75-year-old public defense lawyer.

Larroquette, who had recently been contemplating retirement, was not sure how “Night Court” would perform. He has not watched network TV in years, he said, and had no idea what makes for a good rating point in an era of vastly diminished viewership.

“I haven’t been in a sitcom in a very long time, obviously,” he said.

In the show, Rauch plays the daughter of Harry Stone, the oddball judge from the original “Night Court,” who was portrayed by Harry Anderson. Rauch, a former star of “The Big Bang Theory,” was the one with the improbable idea of bringing the show back to life.

Rauch, who has a deal with Warner Bros., was combing through the studio’s library looking for show ideas when “Night Court” struck her as a viable candidate because, she said, it offered “an evergreen set of stories with these characters and cases that just come in and out each night.”

Though the new iteration takes place in 2023, it looks like a throwback. In the last two years, other successful new network sitcoms, like CBS’ “Ghosts” and ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” have deployed a single camera. “Night Court,” like the original, uses an old-school multicamera setup, complete with a studio audience.

“If you look around the courtroom that we’ve constructed for ‘Night Court,’ it’s not filled with tons of computer screens or modern trappings of life,” Rauch said. “We really intentionally wanted ‘Night Court’ to feel like a place a bit frozen in time.”

The original “Night Court” won seven Emmys, including four consecutive wins for Larroquette as best supporting actor in a comedy. After his fourth win, he withdrew himself from future consideration.

But its success had limits. Critics had a hard time warming up to it, particularly in comparison with other sitcom hits of its era, such as “The Golden Girls” and “Cheers.” The Los Angeles Times once described the show “as durable as a polyester suit but just as unfashionable.”

Stuart Kreisman, a former executive producer of the show, lamented in 1992, “That is our legacy — we’ve always been the other show.”

When “Night Court” was canceled in 1992, word came from the network at such a late hour that the show’s writers did not have a chance to whip up a proper send-off. (Years later, “30 Rock” would do the honors in an episode featuring a courtroom wedding for Anderson’s character.)

“Night Court” went into syndication on A&E and, in more recent years, on the obscure network Laff. But it never made it to Netflix or Hulu to help introduce it to a new generation of viewers the way “Friends” and “Seinfeld” did. Dan Rubin, an executive producer on the “Night Court” revival, said he had to resort to buying older episodes off Amazon Prime during the development process. (The original series is now available on Amazon’s free streaming service, Freevee.)

Susan Rovner, chair of entertainment content at NBCUniversal Television, suspects that nostalgia helped “Night Court” connect with the public.

“When you ask people about ‘Night Court,’ they have positive memories, but they can’t necessarily speak so specifically about it,” she said. “And that might be part of why it’s resonating. There’s a warm, fuzzy feeling about it, even though they may not remember every moment of it.”

Given the glut of reboots, Larroquette said that before “Night Court,” the last time he had appeared in front of a television studio audience was a guest appearance on — naturally — the revival of “Murphy Brown” in 2018.

The original “Murphy Brown” was very much a creature of its time, and the revival awkwardly tried to place the title character headfirst into the Trump-era culture wars. It was canceled after a single season.

Larroquette said “Night Court” could be working because of its offbeat style of comedy.

“I don’t mean this in a Rembrandt or a Henry Moore sculpture way, but the show was kind of timeless because it wasn’t topical,” he said. “It wasn’t stuck in the politics of the day or the mores of the day. It was onto itself: Is this funny? Regardless of its connection to society and present time.

“So when you fast forward 30-odd years, you’re still using that as your gauge,” he continued. “Is it funny?”

[TBayXXXVII 2,106]

1 hour ago, posty said:

We must be missing something...

'Night Court' Is Back, and America Is Tuning In

https://www.yahoo.com/news/night-court-back-america-tuning-123239867.html

They're trying to get people who haven't tuned it yet, to tune it and drive the numbers up.

[wiffleball 4,631]

I still think Barney Miller was incredibly underrated humor.

[posty 2,296]

‘Night Court’ Renewed For Season 2 At NBC

https://deadline.com/2023/02/night-court-renewal-season-2-nbc-1235248275/

NBC has renewed Night Court for a second season following the airing of the revival’s first four episodes.

NBC says that Night Court has reached an audience of 25.7M in delayed viewing since it premiered on January 17. The premiere episode ranked as the No. 1 broadcast premiere of the 2022-23 season in both the ad-friendly 18-49 demographic and in total audience. In total viewers, it raked in the most viewers for any comedy premiere since The Conners debuted on ABC in 2018. It was NBC’s best comedy premiere since Will & Grace in 2017.

The new Night Court follows judge Abby Stone (Melissa Rauch), the daughter of the late Harry Stone, as she follows in her father’s footsteps presiding over the night shift of a Manhattan arraignment court. Throughout Season 1, she tries to bring order to its crew of oddballs and cynics, most notably former night court prosecutor Dan Fielding (John Laroquette).

“It’s so rewarding to have audiences respond and return to a show in which they have such incredibly warm feelings, and, more broadly, it’s testament to how broadcast is still a huge driver of communal viewing,” said Lisa Katz, President, Scripted Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “A huge thank you to our studio partners, a wonderful cast, incredibly talented writers and producers, and a crew that has transformed a lower Manhattan courtroom into a true family.”

“The verdict is in and the ‘new-boot’ of Night Court is a hit! The series’ razor-sharp humor makes the show a weekly must-watch,” said Channing Dungey, Chairman and CEO, Warner Bros. Television Group. “We’re overjoyed that court will remain in session and return with new cases for season two. We’re so grateful to our colleagues at NBC, to the richly talented creative team led by Melissa Rauch, Winston Rauch, Dan Rubin, and John Larroquette, and to the stellar ensemble cast.”

Rubin writes and executive produces. Melissa Rauch and Winston Rauch also executive produce. Larroquette produces. Warner Bros. Television produces in association with After January Productions and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.