Night Court Is The Sitcom Reboot That Lays Down The Law On All The Others

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https://www.looper.com/1215465/night...-the-original/

BY MELISSA LEMIEUX/MARCH 2, 2023 3:00 PM EST

The runaway success of "Night Court" has proven one major truth: it's absolutely possible to go home again.

It's a home that's got great bones, crafted by architects who know how to build a compelling world, and added onto by caring fans of the original property. And yet the beauty of this new take, following the antics of a group of legal types handling the overnight processing of criminals in the city that never sleeps, is its ability to surround something nostalgic with something wholly fresh. Abby Stone (Melissa Rauch) is perkier than her father was, but she carries baggage heavier than his. She shares her father's love of justice, kindness, and mischief, but she's anxious, overstressed and dealing with a long-distance relationship. She's not a carbon copy of her father but could easily fit into the first show's world.

Even if most of the folks who once lived and loved at Manhattan Criminal Court are long gone, and only one main character — the ever-great Dan Fielding (John Larroquette) — still remains from the first show to anchor the new with a sense of familiarity, this neophyte "Night Court" does one thing perfectly — it feels like "Night Court." It rolls the old up into the new like a delicious Thanksgiving weekend burrito, its freshness complimented by nostalgia.

That's just one of the reasons why "Night Court" is far superior to the thick phalanx of late-2010s and early 2020s comfort food-style requel media which has inundated movie screens and televisions worldwide. It definitely rules the sitcom courtroom with its effortlessly ability to make audiences care — and that's all thanks to its firm rooting in the original's ability to smile with a tear in its eye.