‘Night Court’ Renewed For Season 3 By NBC; Episode Count Revealed

Nellie Andreeva
·3 min read
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It’s official — Night Court will be returning for a third season on NBC.

The renewal of the comedy sequel headlined by Melissa Rauch, who also executive produces, and the original series’ John Larroquette, was never in doubt. As Deadline reported earlier this week, the delay was caused by NBC and producing studio Warner Bros. TV going back-and-forth on the size of the order. Season 3 will ultimately consist of 18 episodes, I hear.

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The contract for the series is believed to stipulate 22-episode seasons while NBC asked for a 18-episode third season, sources said. Because the sitcom, a followup to the 1984 NBC sitcom, launched in midseason 2023, its first season counted 16 episodes. Its second season, whose production was interrupted by the strikes, was comprised of 13 episodes, in line of the rest of NBC’s popular scripted series this season. Its season finale aired March 26.

Except for CBS, which still does 22 episodes of its established shows, the other broadcast networks have been trimming their orders. As Deadline reported, the upcoming 21st season of Grey’s Anatomy also is rumored to consist of 18 episodes. That seems to be the new normal.

Night Court quickly established itself as NBC’s flagship comedy series, it ranks as the network’s #1 primetime comedy in both total viewers and the 18-49 demo. According to NBC, the second season, executive produced by Dan Rubin, Melissa Rauch, Winston Rauch and John Larroquette, has reached 24 million total viewers across linear and digital platforms to date.

The other two current NBC comedy series, Lopez vs. Lopez and Extended Family, remain heavily on the bubble, with one of them at best having a shot at getting renewed. It is unclear whether NBC will make the decision before its May upfront presentation as it already has a comedy block ready for the fall schedule in Night Court and the new single-camera workplace comedy St. Denis Medical.

If the Reba McEntire pilot Happy’s Place, gets picked up to series, NBC could use Lopez vs. Lopez or Extended Family as a companion since all three multi-cam comedies are headline by veteran sitcom stars. (For more on Happy’s Place‘s chances, read Deadline’s Pilot Buzz story.)

In Night Court, the eternally optimistic Abby Stone (Rauch) follows in the footsteps of her revered late father, Judge Harry Stone, as she takes on the challenge of overseeing the night shift of a Manhattan arraignment court. Abby always sees the best in people and her passion for justice is undeniable. In her quest to bring order and dignity to the court and reign in its colorful crew of oddballs, she enlists former night court district attorney Dan Fielding (Larroquette) to serve as the court’s public defender.

Warner Bros. Television produces in association with After January Productions and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

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