Night Court

Cast

Main

• Harry Anderson as Judge Harold "Harry" T. Stone
• John Larroquette as assistant district attorney Reinhold Daniel "Dan" Fielding Elmore
• Richard Moll as bailiff Nostradamus "Bull" Shannon
• Gail Strickland as public defender Sheila Gardner (pilot episode only)
• Karen Austin as court clerk Lana Wagner (season 1)
• Paula Kelly as public defender Liz Williams (season 1)
• Selma Diamond as bailiff Selma Hacker (seasons 1–2)
• Ellen Foley as public defender Billie Young (season 2)
• Charles Robinson as court clerk Macintosh "Mac" Robinson (seasons 2–9)
• Markie Post as public defender Christine Sullivan (guest season 2, full time seasons 3–9)
• Florence Halop as bailiff Florence "Flo" Kleiner (née Nightingale) (season 3)
• Marsha Warfield as bailiff Rosalind "Roz" Russell (seasons 4–9)

Recurring

• Mike Finneran as building superintendent/repairman Art Fensterman
• Daniel Frishman as Dan's tyrannical dwarf boss District Attorney Vincent Daniels
• Leslie Bevis as Dan's periodic lover Shiela
• Eugene Roche as Christine's father Jack Sullivan
• Jason Bernard as Judge Willard
• Florence Stanley as Judge Margaret Wilbur
• Brent Spiner and Annie O'Donnell as frequent defendants Bob and June Wheeler
• Yakov Smirnoff as Russian immigrant Yakov Korolenko
• Mel Tormé as himself, Harry's music idol
• Terry Kiser as tabloid courtroom reporter Al Craven (seasons 1–2)
• Rita Taggart as prostitute/frequent defendant Carla Bouvier (seasons 1–2)
• Martin Garner as newsstand owner Bernie (seasons 1–3)
• Denice Kumagai as Mac's wife Quon Le Duc Robinson (seasons 2–9)
• John Astin as Harry's step (later revealed to be birth) father Buddy Ryan (seasons 3–9)
• William Utay as vagrant/Dan's errand boy Phil Sanders (seasons 3–7) and Phil's corrupt twin brother Will (seasons 8–9) who takes his place after his death
• Bumper Robinson as shoeshine boy Leon (season 5)
• Ray Abruzzo as NYPD detective/Christine's husband Tony Giuliano (seasons 7–8)
• Mary Cadorette as reporter/Harry's girlfriend Margaret Turner (season 8)
• S. Marc Jordan as newsstand owner Jack Griffin (seasons 8–9)
• Joleen Lutz as court stenographer Lisette Hocheiser (seasons 8–9)
• Gilbert Gottfried as prosecutor Oscar Brown (season 9)

Casting

Selma Diamond died from lung cancer after the second season. Florence Halop was hired to replace Diamond as the new bailiff, but she was also a heavy smoker and similarly developed lung cancer and died after she recorded season three. She was replaced by Marsha Warfield, who played bailiff Roz Russell until the series ended in 1992.

In 1984, Shelley Hack from Charlie's Angels was hired to replace Paula Kelly and portray new public defender Christine Sullivan—who was going to be romantically involved with Judge Harry Stone (Harry Anderson). But during rehearsals, Hack and producer Reinhold Weege realized there was a problem. "What happened was the role was changed, Instead of being a funny lady, as she was in the reading, they had changed her into a straight woman. It wasn't working, The concept just didn't work and that's what I told them...What's the point if it's not working?" Hack and the producer mutually and amicably agreed she would not continue with the series.  Ellen Foley was brought in for season two as a new character, public defender Billie Young. For episode 2 of season 2 (as a guest, in what was meant to be the season 2 premiere)–and from season 3 onwards (as a regular cast member)—Markie Post was hired to portray Christine Sullivan.

Theme music

Every episode of Night Court opens (after a cold open) and closes with a Latin jazz-influenced, bass-heavy theme tune composed by Jack Elliott, featuring Ernie Watts on saxophone while featuring video footage of prominent New York City landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge and the New York County Courthouse.

Night Courts theme was used in the season-5 Family Guy episode "Bill & Peter's Bogus Journey", featuring animations of former US President Bill Clinton playing saxophone along with Secret Service musicians playing backup.

Night Courts theme was sampled for the remix to Cam'Ron's 1998 single "Horse & Carriage". It was produced by Darrell "Digga" Branch and featured Big Pun, Charli Baltimore, Wyclef Jean, and Silkk the Shocker.

Following the end credits theme music, a distinctive laugh can be heard dubbed over the vanity logo displaying producer Reinhold Weege's "Starry Night Productions". This same laugh can be heard coming from the studio audience throughout numerous seasons of Night Court. At first it was thought to be the canned laugh of voice actor Mel Blanc or even star Harry Anderson; but in fact, it was the laugh of Chuck Weege, Reinhold's father, who attended nearly all of the tapings in person (until Reinhold left the show after the sixth season).

Scheduling

Premiering as a mid-season replacement for the 1983–84 television season, Night Court made its debut on Wednesday, January 4, 1984. The first season aired on Wednesday nights at 9:30 PM (after The Facts of Life and before St. Elsewhere), but ended with unimpressive ratings, in 47th place. For its second season, NBC moved the show to its powerhouse Thursday night lineup (later known as Must See TV), which also included Family Ties, Cheers, and the new comedy The Cosby Show, mantaining its 9:30 PM slot (this time, after Cheers and before Hill Street Blues), where its ratings began to rise as a result, entering the top-twenty for the first time; becoming one of the shows that helped NBC to be back on top in the Nielsen ratings. The show reached its peak during its fourth season, entering the top-ten for the first time, ending at the 7th-most watched show for the 1986–87 season. Despite keeping its Thursday night timeslot from seasons two through five, NBC attempted to air new episodes of Night Court on different nights. In the spring of 1987, NBC moved the show temporarily back to its original Wednesday night (at 9:00 PM, after Highway to Heaven) for the final four episodes of season 4. The following season, in the spring of 1988, NBC moved temporarily the show to Friday nights, airing three new episodes of season 5.

In the fall of 1988, starting with season 6, NBC moved the show to Wednesday nights, keeping its 9:00 PM slot (this time, after Unsolved Mysteries), however, ratings started to decrease, though it remained in the top-30 for its next two seasons. In the fall of 1990, NBC moved the show to Fridays at 9:00 PM, for the first 13 episodes of season 8, before moving back permanently to Wednesdays, serving now as a lead-in to the soon-to-be hit Seinfeld; despite this, the show –especially for its Friday timeslot placement– hit a new ratings low, barely making the top-50. After nine seasons, Night Court ended its run with its one-hour series finale, aired on May 13, 1992; however, a leftover episode aired on May 31.

Episodes

Main article: List of Night Court episodes

Awards and honors

Night Court received a number of awards and nominations. Both Selma Diamond (in 1985) and John Larroquette (in 1988) earned Golden Globe nominations, but lost to Faye Dunaway and Rutger Hauer, respectively. Paula Kelly was nominated for an Emmy after the first season. Larroquette won four consecutive Emmys for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series from 1985 to 1988, before he withdrew his name from the ballot in 1989. Selma Diamond was nominated in 1985, and Anderson received three nominations in 1985, 1986, and 1987. The series received three nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1985, 1987, and 1988. The series also received many awards and nominations in the areas of lighting, editing, sound mixing, and technical direction. The show was nominated for 31 Emmys, winning seven.

Syndication

United States

After its primary run in broadcast syndication, the series aired on A&E Network for many years. It then aired on TV Land from 2005 to 2008, then began airing on Encore Classic on December 2, 2013. From 2016 to 2022, the show aired on Laff.

As of September 2025, the series airs on the Weigel Broadcasting owned Catchy Comedy network on Saturdays. The series was also the subject of Catchy Comedy's inaugural weekend "Catchy Binge" on April 1–2, 2023. Since June 2024, it is now also broadcast on IFC, usually airing in marathons on Mondays and Tuesdays, and sometimes an episode or two is shown in the early mornings on weekends.

Australia

Network Ten first broadcast the series in the 1980s and 1990s. 7TWO began showing reruns in June 2011. Reruns are currently being shown on Foxtel Comedy Channel.

Canada

Aired weekdays on both Comedy Gold and JoyTV.

Germany

Sat.1 aired the series as Harry's wundersames Strafgericht (Harry's Miraculous Criminal Court) in 1988.

Italy

Italia 1 aired the show as Giudice di notte (Night Judge) from 1986 until 1988.

Spain

TVE aired the show as Juzgado de Guardia (Court on Duty/Call).

New Zealand

The show screened weekly on TVNZ 1 in the 1980s and 1990s, and was rerun in the late 1990s.

Home media

Warner Home Video released the first three seasons on DVD in Region 1. Seasons 4–9 were released as Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) DVDs as part of the Warner Archive Collection.

On June 13, 2023, Warner Bros. (through Studio Distribution Services) released Night Court: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.

Special releases

The Television Favorites compilation DVD included the pilot episode, "All You Need Is Love"; both parts of the fourth-season finale, "Her Honor"; the fifth-season episodes "Death of a Bailiff" and "Who Was That Mashed Man?"; and the sixth-season episode "Fire", which marked the beginning of Harry's relationship with Christine.

Harry Anderson, Markie Post, and Charles Robinson appeared in the 30 Rock episode, "The One with the Cast of Night Court". John Larroquette is also mentioned; Harry says he had just spoken to John, which annoys Markie (who has not had recent contact with her absent former co-star) and begins an argument between them that lasts for most of the story.

Sequel series

Main article: Night Court (2023 TV series)

In December 2020, NBC announced it was working on a sequel series to Night Court. The show is executive produced by Melissa Rauch and Winston Rauch, with Dan Rubin writing. Larroquette returned as Fielding, while the show's central character—played by Melissa Rauch—is Abby Stone, a judge and the daughter of Harry Stone. The show is produced by Warner Bros. Television Studios for NBC. In May 2021, it was announced that NBC had given a pilot order to a sequel series. In June 2021, Ana Villafañe joined the cast for the pilot, portraying an Assistant District Attorney and Lacretta plays a bailiff Donna "Gurgs" Gurganous. In July 2021, Kapil Talwalkar joined the cast for the pilot, playing a court's clerk Neil. In September 2021, it was announced that NBC had given the production a series order. In February 2023, it was announced that following the strong reception of the first four episodes, NBC had ordered a full second season of the show. A third season of the revival series would then premiere on November 19, 2024. On May 9, 2025, the series has been canceled after three seasons.

Notes

References

References

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