It may feel like fall of the 2024 TV season is still a long time off, but it's not too soon to start thinking ahead to the returns of favorite shows as well as premieres of new. Night Court is set to return to NBC, where it will be joined on Tuesday nights by freshman comedy St. Denis Medical as a replacement for the cancelled Extended Family. Night Court is going through some changes for Season 3 after its renewal back in May, however, some of which are intriguing and some of which I'm more concerned about.
NBC's New Tuesday Night Schedule
While NBC hasn't yet announced the specific premiere dates for the fall, the weekly lineups have been confirmed. For Tuesday, that means St. Denis Medical at 8 p.m. ET, followed by Night Court Season 3 at 8:30 p.m. ET, then The Voice Season 26 at 9 p.m. ET, and finally The Irrational Season 2 at 10 p.m. ET. This marks a change of nights for Jesse L. Martin's hit drama, which aired its first season on Mondays, and a notable time slot change for Night Court.
For its first two season, the sitcom starring John Larroquette and Melissa Rauch aired on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET, with Season 2 airing directly before Jon Cryer's Extended Family at 8:30 p.m. Being paired with Night Court obviously wasn't enough to turn Extended Family into a hit that would get a second season; could the mockumentary-style St. Denis Medical be more successful airing ahead of Night Court instead of after?
Whatever the reasoning and results, Tuesdays are arguably going to be NBC's least cohesive nights of primetime. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but the network has had a great deal of success with One Chicago Wednesdays and Law & Order Thursdays, with the slight change for fall 2024 as Mark-Paul Gosselaar's Found replaces Law & Order: Organized Crime (which is moving to Peacock) following SVU. Tuesdays will have an hour of comedy, an hour of singing competition, and then an hour of crime drama.
It remains to be seen if Night Court's change in time slot will affect the ratings; we can say with certainty that a different change is definitely going to be obvious in Season 3. That would be India de Beaufort's departure.
India de Beaufort Is Leaving Night Court
India de Beaufort played Olivia Moore, the prosecutor who would face off against John Larroquette's Dan Fielding, for the first two seasons of the Night Court revival. On the same day that the renewal was announced, the actress announced on Instagram that she would not be back for Season 3, saying that she was "beyond overjoyed for the most deserving people" she knows but "will miss the honor of being in their brilliant company." Check out her full post below:
This marks the second time that a Night Court series regular's departure was announced between seasons, as the same happened with Kapil Talwalkar following the end of Season 1 and ahead of Season 2. While his character's absence was explained, there wasn't much in the way of closure, and I'm a little concerned that Olivia won't get much of a sendoff either. There's no sign that de Beaufort will appear in Season 3 for an on-screen goodbye.
For now, if you're missing Night Court over summer hiatus, you can always revisit the first two seasons streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription. Also be sure to check out our ranking of the 100 Best Sitcoms Of All Time to see where the original Night Court places!
