'It Was Immediate': John Larroquette And Marsha Warfield Open Up About Reuniting For Night Court Season 2
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The return of Night Court for Season 2 in the 2024 TV schedule both paid off on the cliffhanger from back in the spring and delivered a proper reunion of original series stars John Larroquette and Marsha Warfield. While the two shared a very brief scene in the Season 1 finale, they joined forces again as Dan and Roz to start the second season, and it was a blast to the past. When the stars spoke with CinemaBlend, they addressed working together again and settling back into their former dynamic.
Marsha Warfield showed her support for the Night Court revival starring Melissa Rauch and bringing back John Larroquette long before her surprise appearance as Roz, and had a much easier time keeping the secret of Roz's return than Melissa Rauch did! Dan and Roz felt like they were back to their old dynamic to start Season 2, even though the circumstances of Roz being arrested while Dan was a judge in New Orleans were very different from anything in the original series.
CinemaBlend's Sean O'Connell spoke with Marsha Warfield about Night Court and asked about her collaborating with John Larroquette and finding their former rhythm. She responded:
John was always very easy to work with and very accommodating and forgiving of a rookie walking into some really big shoes. Night Court was the number four show in the country, and John was winning Emmys like M&Ms. They were just rolling them at him. [laughs] Here I come after the tragic passing of Flo [Halop] and Selma [Diamond]. I had done a pilot with [Flo] about six months before, so I kind of knew her. So it was a huge thing for me, and the cast was really, really great. And so walking back on the set was kind of warm and fuzzy.
The actress certainly isn't kidding about John Larroquette as a hit on the awards circuit back in the day! He was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the Emmys in four consecutive years from 1985-1988 and won every time. Warfield joined the show in its fourth season as the bailiff Roz, following the deaths of Selma Diamond after two seasons and Florence Halop after one.
Joining Night Court was a big deal for Warfield as her first series regular credit, and she had nothing but praise for Larroquette during the original run of the series as well as the revival.
For his part, John Larroquette also only had praise for Marsha Warfield for her return in her two episodes of the revival so far (both available streaming via Peacock Premium subscription). He also noted that the circumstances were very different from their initial time together, as they were the last remaining members of the original cast. During NBC's press event for Night Court Season 2, I asked Larroquette about working with Warfield again, and he shared:
It was just like the old bicycle thing. It was immediate and intimate and hilarious to be with her again. In some ways, I won't say bittersweet, but certainly it was reminiscent because of the fact that when we looked at each other, we realized we were the only two left from the original. But it was heartwarming to see her. We've communicated over the years, via emails, etc. But I hadn't seen her. The last time I saw her was at Markie Post's memorial. So it was happy to see her in circumstances where we got to work together again, instead of just being in a place where we had to be, because of our love of the people who had passed.
John Larroquette had previously spoken about the difficulty of returning for the Night Court revival after the passing of former cast mates Harry Anderson in 2018 at the age of 65, Charles Robinson in 2021 at 75, and Markie Post at 70 in 2021. He hadn't seen Marsha Warfield in person since the memorial for Markie Post, and noted that Warfield reprising her role for Night Court was a "happy" reason to see each other.
It remains to be seen if and when Marsha Warfield will return for more of Night Court Season 2, but my fingers are crossed! In a fun twist, John Larroquette wasn't the only star to reunite with somebody from a former show in the second season, as Melissa Rauch worked again with a Big Bang Theory familiar face. Tune in to NBC on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET for new episodes of Night Court!
