The ‘80s sitcom Night Court is beloved that 30 Rock dedicated an entire episode to stage an episode that never aired because it had been cancelled. Somehow it’s taken another 12 years for this to happen: According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show is being revived. It’s not being remade, mind you. It’s getting a sequel, following the next generation (or is it the one after that?) of employees at, well, a night court, located in eccentric-heavy Manhattan.
The third season 30 Rock episode in question only brought back three cast members: Harry Anderson, Markie Post, and Charlie Robinson, who played judge, public defender, and court clerk over the show’s nine seasons. Anderson passed away in 2018, but the revival will — so far, anyway — only bring back John Larroquette, whose turn as pompous prosecutor Dan Fielding made him a star. Larroquette wouldn’t be the lead, mind you. The revival’s plot, as per THR:
The sequel would center on Abby Stone, daughter of the original’s central character, Judge Harry Stone (played by the late Harry Anderson). She has followed in her father’s footsteps and presides over the night shift of an arraignment court in Manhattan and the assorted characters who populate it, including former prosecutor Dan Fielding.
Night Court ran from 1984 to 1992, and its creator, Reinhold Weege, had previously been a writer on the classic ’70s police precinct comedy Barney Miller, which too focused on the day-to-day of New York City law enforcement. (Barney Miller has been cited as the most realistic police show ever made, depicting the job as unsexy and often dull. Same with Night Court, though it was far more willing to go full-tilt wacky.) As of this writing, the show isn’t available on any of the major streamers — not even Peacock, the one for NBC, where it aired. But trust us, it was funny.
(Via THR)