Night Court finally made its long-awaited return in the 2024 TV schedule for a Season 3 premiere that marked the debut of Wendie Malick as a series regular, reprising her role as Julianne to become the new prosecutor to oppose Dan in court. NBC's hit sitcom clearly hadn't lost any of its magic over the hiatus, and a fun new video (seen above) reveals their hot takes on essential topics like pineapple on pizza and whether a hot dog is a sandwich. And I'd say that Malick fits right in, even if she has also shared that Julianne has her "glitches" in Season 3!
The stars of Night Court may not have all been on the same page about questions other than whether water is wet in the video, but Melissa Rauch, Lacretta, Nyambi Nyambi, and Wendie Malick had great answers all around. Who knew that Nyambi Nyambi thought of a hot dog as two pieces of bread and meat instead of one bun and meat, or that Wendie Malick could name so many different types as the top form of potato? These from the video are all questions that will endure long after Night Court reveals whether or not Dan is truly Jake's father.
In case you missed the Season 3 premiere that fully brought Julianne into the mix to make the most of that – to quote Wendie Malick – "bad chemistry" with John Larroquette's Dan, you can stream the episode now with a Peacock subscription. Joining Night Court to replace India de Beaufort's Olivia, Malick spoke with CinemaBlend and other outlets during NBC's press junket for Season 3, and she shared what most excited her about her promotion from guest star to series regular:
First of all, I think it's hilarious that a criminally insane person would be asked to join this group as a prosecutor. [laughs] But this is the magic of television, and apparently I have a law degree, among many other things! I like to play neurotic people or people who have little glitches in their personalities, and I think of Julianne as sort of a savant. She's very good at some things, but there's something missing up here, and my hope is she's going to be going off her medication every now and then, which will keep things very interesting.
Julianne at least proved to Dan in the Season 3 premiere that she is indeed a lawyer and did not invent her credentials to scam her way into Abby's court. She's getting her second chance fresh out of prison, and so far has not renewed her murderous vendetta against Dan! Of course, "so far" consists of just one episode, and there should be plenty more to come with Malick as a series regular.
As a veteran of multi-cam sitcoms, Wendie Malick also came to Night Court with more experience in front of a live studio audience than many other stars. During NBC's press event, I asked the Just Shoot Me! and Hot in Cleveland alum about the live studio audience that – according to Melissa Rauch – is often filled with huge Night Court fans, and Malick shared:
I see that they have very, very enthusiastic rabid fans, and I'm sure a lot of them came back from a long time ago, and then they've earned a lot of new ones since the reboot. But I think that's kind of the beauty of a show that really has legs, that's had years of experience. People get really invested in these characters, and they want to see what's going to happen with them, how they interact with each other.
Wendie Malick went on to note that Night Court has a history of bringing in new people to add to the hijinks, and she certainly has a point. The sitcom has amassed a list of fun guest stars, including (but certainly not limited to) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Paul Scheer, Kunal Nayyar, and original Night Court guests Brent Spiner and Annie O'Donnell as the Wheelers. Malick elaborated:
They do have that wonderful opportunity of having any number of crazy people walking through the door in that court at night, so it's another chance for us to bring in people that we find incredibly talented and funny, to come in and guest star. So I want to pay it forward with the people I love and think are incredibly funny and wonderful people and give them a shot to come in and visit.
Keep tuning in to NBC on Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET for new episodes of Night Court, following installments of St. Denis Medical. It remains to be seen if the characters ever get into a debate about pineapple on pizza and/or how many holes there are in a straw for a storyline, but fans can count on Season 3 continuing into the 2025 TV schedule. You can also revisit earlier episodes streaming via Peacock now.
