Night Court review: The revival no one asked for is actually okay

The original Night Court had a great theme song. The comedy — starring Harry Anderson as Judge Harry Stone, who presided over the oddball-filled evening shift at a dingy courthouse in New York City — ran from 1984 to 1992 on NBC. John Larroquette earned most of the laughs (and four Emmys) as the smarmy, lascivious prosecutor Dan Fielding, though the studio audience also loved Bull, the towering bald bailiff played by Richard Moll. I watched it regularly as a kid but would be hard-pressed to recall a single episode or punchline. When 30 Rock reunited Anderson with costars Markie Post and Charlie Robinson for "The One With the Cast of Night Court" in 2008, a big part of the joke seemed to be, "But did anyone ask for a reunion of Night Court?"

I think you know where I'm going with this: NBC is bringing back Night Court. The new series — a semi-sequel that pairs Larroquette with The Big Bang Theory's Melissa Rauch — is innocuous, quirky, and mildly amusing, like its predecessor. We may never know the "why," but the what, at least, is perfectly fine.

Jordin Althaus/NBC/Warner Bros. Television Melissa Rauch, Lacretta, India de Beaufort, and David Theune in 'Night Court'

Newly installed night court judge Abby Stone (Rauch) hasn't been on the bench for more than a few minutes when the burned-out public defender (David Theune) quits. Looking for guidance — and a connection to her late dad — Abby tracks down Harry's old friend and former colleague, Dan Fielding, and asks him to take the job. (Anderson died in 2018; Robinson and Post passed away in 2021.) Long retired and sporting a bushy, F-you beard, Fielding scoffs at the idea of returning to the court's "non-stop freak show" — for about 20 of the premiere's 22 minutes. By episode 2, Dan is trading gruff wisdom and disdainful barbs with Abby and a whole new night-shift gang, including stand-offish prosecutor Olivia (India de Beaufort), anxiety-ridden clerk Neil (Kapil Talwalkar), and gregarious bailiff Donna "Gurgs" Gurganos (Lacretta).

Rauch is a longtime fan of the original Night Court, and she serves as an executive producer on the revival alongside her husband, Winston Rauch, and showrunner Dan Rubin (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt). Their affection for the IP is evident in the new series, from the Easter egg props in Abby's chambers (same green couch, same stuffed armadillo named Clarence) to the general tone of determined silliness. We know Abby is kooky because she's got an oil painting of a German Shepherd wearing a black robe hanging on the wall behind her desk, and we know Abby sees the defendants as more than docket numbers because she says things like, "I just think if you show a little compassion, you can put people on a better path."

Abby is a relentless, cat-blouse wearing optimist who pushes everyone to realize their full potential. It is a testament to Rauch, an adept and amiable comedian, that the character comes across as endearing instead of annoying. Larroquette brings a new warmth to the now-widowed Dan, but he still serves as the needed bitter to Abby's sweet — and he still gets all the best lines ("Jump into your khakis? This is a hall of justice, not a Connecticut key party"). Night Court continues to exist in a world where accused flashers wear trench coats with nothing underneath, which is weird but also kind of sweetly nostalgic. And the theme song still slaps. For a show that none of us asked for, that's about as good as it gets. Grade: B-

Night Court premieres Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

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