'Night Court' Sequel With Melissa Rauch & John Larroquette Ordered to Series at NBC

[MA]

https://deadline.com/2020/12/night-c...ot-1234657152/

‘Night Court’ Sequel In Works At NBC With John Larroquette As Dan Fielding, Harry Stone’s Daughter As Focus & Melissa Rauch As EP

Night Court is back in session. NBC is developing a follow-up to the classic legal comedy series, with co-star John Larroquette set to reprise his Emmy-winning role and produce. The Big Bang Theory alumna Melissa Rauch executive produces the reboot for Warner Bros TV.

Written/executive produced by Dan Rubin (The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) based on the original series created by Reinhold Weege, the multi-camera Night Court centers on the unapologetic optimist judge Abby Stone, daughter of the late Harry Stone, who follows in her father’s footsteps as she presides over the night shift of a Manhattan arraignment court and tries to bring order to its crew of oddballs and cynics, most notably former night court prosecutor Dan Fielding (Larroquette).

The original Night Court, which aired on NBC for nine seasons from 1984-92 and earned three Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy nominations, followed the proceedings during the night shift of a Manhattan municipal court, led by a young, unorthodox judge, Harold “Harry” T. Stone. He was played by Harry Anderson, who died in 2018 at age 65. Abby is a newly created character who was not part of the original show.

Melissa Rauch and Winston Rauch executive produce via their After January production company, which is based at Warner Bros. TV. After January produces in association with WBTV, which was also the studio behind the original series. There are no plans for Melissa Rauch to act in the project, which she initiated.

Under her company’s WBTV deal, she approached the studio about the Night Court IP as she grew up a fan of the show and felt that a new incarnation could work well today.

Night Court is one of several projects After January has in development at WBTV. Melissa Rauch is coming off Warner Bros TV’s blockbuster comedy series The Big Bang Theory, which aired on CBS for 12 seasons. She recently appeared in Steven Soderbergh’s The Laundromat alongside Meryl Streep. Rauch starred, produced and co-wrote along with husband Winston Rauch, The Bronze – which was the official opening-night film of the Sundance Film Festival and was released by Sony Pictures Classics. She recently produced, co-wrote (with Winston) and starred in a stage production of a political satire titled The Secret Lunches of Chelsea & Ivanka at Joe’s Pub in NYC. She is repped by WME, Untitled Entertainment and Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman.

Larroquette won four consecutive Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Emmys for his signature role on Night Court. He recently joined the cast of CBS All Access’ The Good Fight and starred on the CBS comedy series Me, Myself & I. Larroquette landed his fifth Emmy for his recurring role on ABC’s The Practice. He is repped by Gersh and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

Rubin worked on Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt for the comedy’s entire run. He continued his collaboration with Kimmy Schmidt‘s Tina Fey, Robert Carlock and Sam Means on their Netflix animated series Mulligan. His series credits also include Fox’s series Outmatched, Happy Endings, Scrubs, Worst Week and The Michael J. Fox Show. Rubin is repped by Rise Management, UTA and Jared Levine.

[Chocolate Moose]

no kidding?

[paul.austin]

Kind of pointless now. Harry Anderson is dead and, as talented as John Larroquette is, the man is over seventy years old. He can't play the character of Dan Fielding like he did 30 years ago.

No one wants to see a senior citizen hitting on women, at least I don't.

[TMC]

If NBC is rebooting Night Court, shouldn't the original be available to stream somewhere?

The potential sequel series starring John Larroquette that Deadline revealed earlier this week "could totally be a good show," says Garrett Martin. "Maybe instead of remaking Night Court, though, they should just make the original watchable somewhere? Night Court isn’t streaming anywhere. It’s not on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, CBS All Access, Disney+, Apple TV, Kanopy, Shudder, Crunchyroll, Acorn, BritBox, VRV, AMC+, Crave, DC Universe, Fox Nation, WWE Network, or even NBC’s own streamer, Peacock. It wasn’t even on Seeso. You can buy episodes or seasons online, but if you’re just a casual fan, or somebody who’s never seen it and want to check it out based on its reputation, you can’t find it on any streaming service you subscribe to—no matter how many you subscribe to. Watching Night Court in 2020 is neither easy nor cheap enough. That’s disappointing. I’m not going to act like Night Court would be as big on streaming today as other old sitcoms like Seinfeld or Friends—hell, even Cheers, the most popular sitcom of the ‘80s and early ‘90s, and one of the two or three best ones ever made, has faded a bit despite streaming on multiple services for as long as streaming has been a thing, and Cheers was always bigger than Night Court. And I’m sure a lot of Night Court has aged terribly—you were never supposed to admire Dan Fielding and his philandering, but his insistent sexual harassment of basically every woman to ever enter the court is utterly out of step with the times now. But Night Court was huge in its day, running for nine seasons on NBC, often as part of the Must See TV lineup at its peak alongside shows like Cheers and The Cosby Show, and yet today it’s basically unknown to people who weren’t alive when it originally aired. It has no relevance and no cachet to audiences under the age of 35, and part of that problem has to be that it can’t be watched the way most people watch TV today."

[MA]

Originally Posted by paul.austin

Kind of pointless now. Harry Anderson is dead and, as talented as John Larroquette is, the man is over seventy years old. He can't play the character of Dan Fielding like he did 30 years ago.

No one wants to see a senior citizen hitting on women, at least I don't.

As much as I like Night Court and the work of John Larroquette, I do not see this show lasting long.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by paul.austin

Kind of pointless now. Harry Anderson is dead and, as talented as John Larroquette is, the man is over seventy years old. He can't play the character of Dan Fielding like he did 30 years ago.

No one wants to see a senior citizen hitting on women, at least I don't.

Every Question Night Court's Reboot Can Resolve

Is Any Part Of The 30 Rock Night Court Finale Canon?

Many are only familiar with Night Court because of a season 3 episode of 30 Rock, appropriately titled "The One with the Cast of Night Court." The episode had Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) producing a new Night Court series finale, in a bid to lift the spirits of the depressed Kenneth The Page (Jack McBrayer), who was sad that Night Court never got a proper ending. Harry Anderson, Markie Post and Charles Robinson played parodies of themselves, who agreed to reprise their Night Court roles only for old grievances to nearly tank the project. Things ended happily, however, with the finale ending with Judge Harry Stone declaring himself and defense attorney Christine Sullivan to be husband and wife.

The 30 Rock episode "The One with the Cast of Night Court" exaggerated how silly Night Court could be at times, recalling a non-existent storyline in which Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) played a werewolf lawyer. One thing the episode did not blow out of proportion, however, was how erratic the actual final season of Night Court was and how its final episode ended with multiple plotlines unresolved. Ironically, this was because the show's producers were ready to end the show after eight seasons and the final episodes of season 8 were meant to build up to the wedding of Harry and Christine and Dan renouncing his old life to become a priest. When Night Court was unexpectedly renewed, the show was thrown into sharp relief and the first few episodes of Night Court season 9 were devoted towards restoring the status quo. Strangely enough, almost the exact opposite chain of events played out at the end of Night Court season 9.

The two-part episode "Opportunity Knock Knocks" ended with multiple cliffhangers which suggested a season 10 was in the works. This was because Warner Bros. was shopping the series around, hoping to continue in syndication or another network besides NBC. When these plans fell through, the show was abruptly cancelled — a decision the cast was informed of in a memo, handed out just before the final taping. To add insult to injury, the ensemble were also asked to have their dressing rooms cleared out by Monday. It was an unceremonious ending for the once beloved show and, ironically, one that would not be out of place in an episode of 30 Rock. Yet "The One with the Cast of Night Court" does raise the question of whether or not Christine and Harry ever did get married, as fans had hoped, and if something similar to the events of the 30 Rock episode will have happened in the backstory of the Night Court reboot.

The Harry/Christine/Dan Love Triangle & Abby Stone's Mother

Even ignoring the 30 Rock episode, the biggest question fans of the original Night Court have regarding the reboot is how the love triangle between Harry, Dan and Christine will be resolved. The original TV series ended with Christine being elected to Congress and resigning her position as the public defender in Harry's court. Dan also resigned his post as prosecutor, having had a revelation that he was truly in love with Christine and that he needed to follow her to Washington DC to prove himself to her. This followed Christine privately giving Harry a more than-friendly kiss, during which she declared that he was the person she was most going to miss the most in her new job.

The Night Court reboot is said to center around Harry Stone's daughter Abby following in his footsteps to become a judge, but nothing has been said in the show synopsis about who her mother was. Did Harry and Christine finally tie the knot and have a daughter together? If so, why isn't Christine mentioned in the spinoff summary? Did Harry move on to a new love after Christine?

How Will Dan Fielding Have Changed In 30 Years?

The news that John Larroquette is returning as Dan Fielding in the Night Court reboot is something of an incongruity. On the one hand, Dan was the breakout character of the original series' ensemble and Larroquette is an amazing actor, so it makes sense that the reboot producers would want to include him in the new production. On the other hand, Dan was a divisive and politically incorrect character before the term "politically correct" had been coined.

At a glance, it's hard to see how any comedy today could include a rampant womanizer like Dan Fielding as part of its cast. What many miss, however, is that Dan Fielding was a nuanced character and the reason why Laroquette's performance was so acclaimed was because of how he could believably play Dan as a jerk with a heart of gold, who was still capable of outstanding moments of heroism and generosity even while acting in a cynical and sleazy manner. While Dan was depicted as having an eye for the ladies, he never played games with the law and took pride in his work as a prosecutor. It's also worth noting that Dan largely renounced his wicked ways over the course of Night Court season 8 and he appeared ready to make a similar change to his life as the show ended.

The character description for Dan Fielding in the reboot announcement describes him as a "former night court prosecutor," yet he is still said to be a part of Abby Stone's court team. Could Dan have returned to his old digs, having followed his heart and earned Christine's love and lived out a life with her, or has he taken on a new career? Is he still a skirt-chaser as a silver fox, or will he have turned over a new leaf and become more sensitive with time? The classic TV show reboot could either emphasize Dan's status as a relic of an older age struggling for relevancy while mocking what he was, or it could forge new ground by showing how he has evolved, while still remaining the same scheming lecher that fans of the classic series loved. Either prospect seems equally likely and equally hilarious.

What About The Rest Of The Cast?

The two part "Opportunity Knock Knocks" finale was largely devoted to Christine's Congressional campaign and Dan's revelation that he truly loved Christine, but also proposed big changes to the lives of most of Night Court's ensemble. Judge Harry Stone was suddenly deluged with job offers, including a partnership in a prestigious law firm and a promotion to the New York State Superior Court, but he ultimately decided to remain in his current job where he felt he was truly making a difference. Bailiff Bull Shannon (Richard Moll) was called to a higher purpose, literally, leaving Earth with aliens from the planet Jupiter who needed a tall guy to reach the things on their highest shelves. Nothing was said about them also taking Bull's wife, Wanda, whom he married earlier in season 9.

Court clerk Mac Robinson (Charles Robinson) didn't entertain any new job offers, but he did quit law school to pursue his dreams of becoming a filmmaker. This built upon a season 9 subplot involving how the video of Bull and Wanda's wedding, which Mac had filmed as an artsy auteur project, had accidentally been released in an arthouse theater and developed a cult following akin to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Bailiff Roz Russell (Marsha Warfield) didn't have a major subplot and was barely in the finale apart from a scene in which she assured Harry that she wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon, having just bought five new pairs of handcuffs.

It's unknown if any of the rest of the original Night Court cast is planning on reprising their roles for the reboot apart from John Larroquette, but the show will have to address what happened to the rest of the original team, if only with an off-hand joke or Easter egg. While it's highly unlikely Mac, Roz and Bull are still working their old jobs, there's still a chance they might pop in to see how Harry's daughter or Dan are doing. This seems more likely than an unexpected cameo with them showing up in court, perhaps after a fight broke out between Mac and Tommy Wiseau at his latest film premiere, regarding who was the real king of cult cinema.

[MA]

Originally Posted by rusty spike

Couldn't agree more.

It would be nice if Markie Post could make a guest appearance on an episode of the show.

[MA]

Blog post: https://blog.sitcomsonline.com/2020/...rt-sequel.html

[TMC]

https://deadline.com/2021/04/night-c...ot-1234748000/

‘Night Court’: EP Melissa Rauch Set To Star With John Larroquette In Sequel At NBC

The new Night Court has set up a dream leading duo. The follow-up to the classic legal comedy series, which has been heating up for a pilot order at NBC for several weeks, will star Melissa Rauch and the original series’ co-star John Larroquette, reprising his Emmy-winning role, I have learned.

This marks the first post-The Big Bang Theory TV role for Rauch, the driving force behind the reboot, who initially was only set to executive produce for Warner Bros TV but decided to take on the lead role after reading the script, I hear. Reps for NBC and WBTV declined comment.

Written/executive produced by Dan Rubin based on the original series created by Reinhold Weege, the multi-camera Night Court centers on the unapologetic optimist judge Abby Stone (Rauch), daughter of the late Harry Stone, who follows in her father’s footsteps as she presides over the night shift of a Manhattan arraignment court and tries to bring order to its crew of oddballs and cynics, most notably former night court prosecutor Dan Fielding (Larroquette).

The original Night Court, which aired on NBC for nine seasons from 1984-92 and earned three Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy nominations, followed the proceedings during the night shift of a Manhattan municipal court, led by a young, unorthodox judge, Harold “Harry” T. Stone. He was played by Harry Anderson, who died in 2018 at age 65. Abby is a newly created character who was not part of the original show.

Melissa Rauch and Winston Rauch executive produce via their After January production company, which is based at Warner Bros. TV. After January produces in association with WBTV, which was also the studio behind the original series. Under her company’s WBTV deal, Melissa Rauch approached the studio about the Night Court IP as she grew up a fan of the show and felt that a new incarnation could work well today.

Rauch is coming off Warner Bros TV’s blockbuster comedy series The Big Bang Theory, which aired on CBS for 12 seasons. She recently appeared in Steven Soderbergh’s The Laundromat alongside Meryl Streep. Rauch starred, produced and co-wrote along with husband Winston Rauch, The Bronze – which was the official opening-night film of the Sundance Film Festival and was released by Sony Pictures Classics. She recently produced, co-wrote (with Winston) and starred in a stage production of a political satire titled The Secret Lunches of Chelsea & Ivanka at Joe’s Pub in NYC. She is repped by WME, Untitled Entertainment and Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman.

[PracTz]

Please just DON'T, NBC!

Haven't we suffered enough this year without having this inflicted upon us?

[MA]

Like I said in a previous post, I just don't see this doing well at all.

[MA]

‘Night Court’ Sequel Nabs NBC Pilot Pickup

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv...ickup-4177785/

[paul.austin]

A senior citizen as your important offering doesn’t work often.

Take Madonna - Frank Sinatra could get away with concert tours in his seventies but I doubt anyone wants to see in concert a little old lady trying to belt out “Like a Virgin”.

[MikeLutton]

sounds like something Dan Fielding would say

[paul.austin]

Madonna is now 62. She’s practically pensionable.