Hollywood hasn’t run out of new ideas, but, gee, it sort of looks that way sometimes when you glance through the TV schedule.
The list of shows that have been revived or rebooted in recent years ranges ranges from “Bel-Air” to “The Wonder Years,” “The Conners” to “Wednesday,” “Kung Fu” to “Queer as Folk” — just to name a few.
One of the more surprising revivals, recently added to that list, is “Night Court.” The original sitcom ran for nine seasons (1984-92), but it was neither a critical darling nor a favorite of the Emmys. (Although John Larroquette won four best supporting actor awards for his role as obnoxious prosecutor Dan Fielding.) Yes, it peaked at No. 7 in the ratings during the 1986-87 season, but that was largely because it followed three other sitcoms airing Thursday nights on NBC — No. 1 “The Cosby Show,” No. 2 “Family Ties” and No. 3 “Cheers.”
Melissa Rauch (“The Big Bang Theory”), the executive producer/star of the new “Night Court,” said she was convinced that the original sitcom had the makings of “a great revival.” That it could be “this wonderful workplace comedy” that gives viewers a “lot of comfort and the laughter that feels like we all really need right now.”
But there didn’t seem to be any great demand for the original series. It isn’t syndicated on broadcast or cable, and it wasn’t streaming. You had to pay for it by the episode or by the season. (Amazon has just added it to its free streaming service Freevee.)
The original series is now dated in many ways. Including that it got laughs from Dan Fielding’s sexist behavior, which Larroquette readily admitted “would probably not be funny today.”
And the new sequel looks, sounds and feels like a 1980s sitcom, both in style and in substance. In the original “Night Court,” Judge Harry Stone (Harry Anderson) presided over a crazy, after-hours New York City courtroom, with Dan as the prosecutor. It’s the same thing in the revival, with Rauch as Harry’s perky daughter, Judge Abby Stone, and Larroquette switching sides to be the public defender.
To the surprise of everyone involved, the new “Night Court” came out of the gate strong. NBC execs were dancing with joy when the Jan. 17 premiere drew about 7.5 million viewers on the network — very good numbers for 2023. (That number that would’ve gotten a show quickly canceled in the 1980s. During that 1986-87 season, the original “Night Court” averaged 20.3 million viewers, about 10 million fewer than “The Cosby Show.”)
NBC execs quickly renewed the new “Night Court” for a second season, but did they jump the gun? It’s declined every week since, and has lost more than half its audience — down to 3.7 million viewers on Feb. 14. That’s not terrible for a network show today, and it doesn’t include streaming on Peacock.
Like the original, the new “Night Court” is … well … OK. It has its moments, and Larroquette is always fun to watch, but it’s inconsistent and only occasionally funny. Which could account for the declining viewership.
New episodes of “Night Court” air Tuesdays at 7 p.m. on NBC/Ch. 5, and start streaming Wednesdays on Peacock.
Instant answer • Asked if he thinks Harry Anderson would “love” the new “Night Court,” Larroquette quickly replied, “Only if he was in it.”
Passed on • Both Rauch and exec producer/showrunner Dan Rubin strongly hinted that other original “Night Court” cast members will show up in Season 1. Odds are they’re talking about Richard Moll (bailiff Bull Shannon, Seasons 1-9) and Marsha Warfield (bailiff Roz Russell).
Harry Anderson died in 2018. Markie Post (public defender Christine Sullivan, Seasons 4-9) and Charlie Robinson (court clerk Mac Robinson, Seasons 2-9) both died in 2021.
Two of the first three public defenders are still alive: Gail Strickland (Sheila Gardner in the pilot episode only) and Ellen Foley (Billie Young in Season 2). Paula Kelly, who played Liz Williams in Episodes 2-13, died in 2020.
And Karen Austin, who played court clerk Lana Wagner in the first 10 episodes, is a possibility ... although she was dropped from the show before the first season ended.
By the way, Warfield joined the cast in Season 4, after the death of Florence Hallop. Hallop had joined the cast in Season 3, after the death of Selma Diamond.
(Zach Dougan | CBS/Universal Television) Jay Hernandez as Thomas Magnum and Perdita Weeks as Juliet Higgins in "Magnum, P.I."
‘Magnum, P.I.’ switches networks
A reboot of the original series, which starred Tom Selleck as the title character from 1980-88, the current version of “Magnum, P.I.” was canceled by CBS in May 2022. But it was quickly picked up by NBC for a fifth season — which wasn’t a huge surprise, given that both Universal, which produces it, and NBC are owned by Comcast.
It’s still the same show about a private detective (Jay Hernandez) in Hawaii, with one change that would’ve never happened in the original series: Magnum and Higgins are now romantic partners. In the original series, Higgins was played by John Hillerman; in the reboot, Higgins is played by Perdita Weeks.
Even though the characters are now a couple, their dynamic will remain unchanged. “I think a lot of people actually were worried,” Weeks said, “that [Magnum and Higgins] would lose the antagonism or something, but I will reassure everyone that that very much remains.” Hernandez added, “We still bicker constantly.”
The fifth season begins Sunday at 8 and 9 p.m. on NBC/Channel 5.
The network has ordered 20 episodes, which will be broken up into two parts. Each half of the season will have “a beginning, middle and end,” according to executive producer Eric Guggenheim. “And by the time we get to Episode 10, there are some storylines that still won’t have been resolved by then that will continue on in Part 2.”
There has been no announcement about when Episodes 11-20 will air. It’s conceivable that they might not be scheduled until sometime next TV season.
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