The fall 2024 TV schedule may be winding down, but NBC still has one big primetime premiere left before the end of the year: Night Court. The hit comedy returns for its third season, with Wendie Malick on board as a series regular with India de Beaufort out. Fun guest stars are on the way, including Mayim Bialik for a Big Bang Theory reunion with Melissa Rauch and Ryan Hansen returning as Jake. Lacretta, who of course plays Gurgs, has her own idea for a guest star to pay off on a joke from Season 2: Christopher Meloni, as the wait for Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 continues.
Back in a Season 2 episode, Gurgs had a running joke that was somehow even funnier than John Larroquette going full Klingon in a nod to Star Trek III. She revealed that she had a "dalliance with Christopher Meloni" when he shadowed her "for his greatest role" as star of Bailiff: The Musical. (The nudity was of course Gurgs' idea.) She went on to drop more bits of background about what she dubbed "one of Christopher Meloni's greatest Broadway triumphs," including that "Double Dangerous" was the name of Meloni's big number in the musical.
The episode also added another chapter of Gurgs' lore, with the reveal that they "have unfinished business." All in all, it was a hilarious running gag that immediately made me want to see the Law & Order: Organized Crime star step away from playing Stabler for a bit to play a fictionalized version of himself as Broadway star/Gurgs' nemesis. So, when I spoke with Lacretta during NBC's Night Court junket ahead of the Season 3 premiere, I had to ask about Bailiff: The Musical. She laughed and said:
I retweeted and reposted, hoping that he would see it and maybe reach out and say something, but he's a busy guy. His team is a busy team. But Christopher – Mr. Meloni – if you would like to come and do a guest star on Night Court, I think that would be really cool. And considering that I did an episode of SVU years and years ago, that would just be a full circle moment for me.
Like many TV actors, Lacretta appeared on Law & Order: SVU earlier in her career, long before she was a series regular on arguably NBC's biggest current sitcom. It's a fun bit of trivia, though, that Lacretta's first-ever TV credit was the Season 13 episode of SVU called "Street Revenge" back in 2012, which was in the show's first season without Christopher Meloni. I'm definitely with Lacretta on being ready for more on Bailiff: The Musical, and Melissa Rauch commented "That's so meta!" when her co-star revealed how "full circle" it would be.
While Gurgs' and Christopher Meloni's "dalliance" over Bailiff: The Musical only happened in the world of Night Court, Lacretta is a veteran of stage musicals and Broadway in real life. When I asked if she'd be interested in singing in Season 3 – with or without Christopher Meloni – she shared:
Yes! With or without, my voice is Night Court's.
Even though Christopher Meloni's biggest break into network TV was as Elliot Stabler over more than 250 episodes of SVU and fans are now eagerly awaiting his return in Law & Order: Organized Crime's fifth season, he has plenty of comedy experience with projects ranging from Wet Hot American Summer to Harley Quinn. Why not add Night Court to the list, since Organized Crime's premiere date as a Peacock streaming original hasn't even been announced yet for (presumably) the 2025 TV schedule?
It remains to be seen if Meloni will ever join Lacretta on Night Court, but the trailer for Season 3 is hyping Wendie Malick's return as Julianne Waters. Take a look:
Tune in to NBC on Tuesday, November 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET for the Season 3 premiere of Night Court, following a new episode of St. Denis Medical. You can also revisit earlier episodes of Melissa Rauch and John Larroquette's sitcom streaming with a Peacock subscription, as well as the first four seasons of Law & Order: Organized Crime if you want to see Christopher Meloni!
