Review by C.J. Bunce
As many laughs as viewers got from the first two seasons of the NBC reboot/sequel series Night Court, the third season cemented the series as “best comedy of the year” material. That’s thanks in large part to co-lead John Larroquette with a writers room fully up to the task of putting words in the mouth of one of TV’s all-time best performers–and his hilarious, iconic lawyer Dan Fielding. It’s also thanks to shifting the cast to put Wendie Malick in a lead spot as prosecuting lawyer and sharer-of-barbs Julianne Walters. Scenes between the two represent the best of network TV, a dwindling realm always in risk of losing out forever to streaming services. But is anyone paying attention? Will NBC renew the series for a fourth season?
As viewers found with the first two new seasons, the writing in the third season is every bit as laugh-out-loud funny as the original, with the same heart and quirky spirit, with a few episodes even better than the original Night Court, which first aired from 1984-1992. The spiritual successor to shows like Barney Miller and Welcome Back, Kotter, Night Court dabbled in the truth of life in the Big Apple’s dingy corners, using humor to buff its dull reality.
It’s not just Larroquette and Malick that sell the show. Melissa Rauch as Judge Abracadabra “Abby” Stone, daughter of the late Harry Anderson’s Judge Harry T. Stone, solidifies her own status as comedic “straight man.” She is an actor and plays her character for all it’s worth, without bringing any celebrity persona or shtick to the show (unlike the style of her Big Bang co-leads). What the production should pay attention to is whether fans of her past work are the same as Night Court’s audience. This season saw more than one visit from a former Big Bang cast member, likely the series trying to reach out to that fan base. If you’re not familiar with that series then it won’t matter to your enjoyment of Night Court. Why? Since the original series, the show succeeds at bringing anyone and everyone in front of the judge. But nods to Big Bang Theory are simply unnecessary. Let the show succeed on its own merits–Night Court is funnier stuff anyway.
While unfamiliar faces are fun, bringing back Star Trek’s Brent Spiner and Annie O’Donnell as Bob and June Wheeler kept nostalgia lovers happy. Appearances by original show regular Marsha Warfield as a wiser, older, modern Roz is even better. TV comedy show veterans Julia Duffy and Richard Kind provided further comedy street cred. Do I even need to mention all the other Star Trek nods?
Comedienne and singer Lacretta as the new century’s bailiff Gurgs, with her personality bubbly and so opposite of Roz, makes her character succeed on its own merits, too. But let’s not forget India de Beaufort and Kapil Talwalker helped launch the reboot as the supporting crew. Yet updating their parts with Nyambi Nyambi as Wyatt and Gary Anthony Williams as Flobert resulted in even funnier comedy bits this season. Updating Judge Stone’s boyfriend to Veronica Mars’ veteran Ryan Hansen was icing on the cake–even if they never get together for good.
Same court. Same judge’s chambers. Same cafeteria. Same hallway. With a great cast in place, the show really is all about the writing. Did you ever notice the most gut-busting laughs occur in the break room? Writing team Dan Rubin, Shawn Parikh, Bennett Webber, Rebecca Delgado Smith, Jessica Elaina Eason, Julianne Turkel, Lenny Len, Etan Manasse-Piha, Caroline Fox, Lon Zimmet, Lindsey Shockley, Julia Mandel Folly, Alex Sobotowski, Laura Gutin, Beau Batchelor, Sophia Crisafulli, and Mathew Harawitz–that is a huge writers room, but it got the job done.
It’s nostalgic for the characters, the set-up, its 1980s brand of humor, the positivity, even the logo card and theme, light on heavy themes and it’s funny–tied with Ghosts as the show to look forward to making you smile all week long. Catch past seasons and all 18 new episodes of season 3 of Night Court now streaming on Peacock.
