The Big Picture

NBC’s sitcom,
Night Court
, returns for Season 3 later this month.
John Larroquette, who plays Dan Fielding, spoke about new series regular Wendie Malick.
Larroquette also discusses the importance of consistent comedy through a 22-minute network-length episode.

Court is almost back in session as the “newboot” of NBC sitcom Night Court returns for its third season. Presiding over the night shift of the Manhattan arraignment court is Abby Stone (Melissa Rauch), daughter of the late Harry Stone (Harry Anderson), an optimist who does her best to bring order to the often chaotic court. Abby recruits former night court prosecutor, Dan Fielding, who is reprised by John Larroquette, as the new public defender. They are also joined by Nyambi Nyambi and Lacretta.

During this one-on-one interview with Collider, John Larroquette spoke about why his primary job is to make audiences laugh for 22 minutes every week, as well as his thoughts on why audiences still like his character. Plus, Larroquette previews what Wendie Malick will bring now that she is joining the series as a regular. Malick has been a recurring guest star as criminal Julianne Walters, who used to seek revenge against Dan for sentencing her decades ago. In Season 3, Julianne is hired by Abby to become the new night court prosecutor.

‘Night Court’s Season 3 Will Feature New Cast Dynamics

COLLIDER: John, congratulations on Season 3. How are you feeling as we are getting closer to the premiere?

JOHN LARROQUETTE: I’m feeling fine. I think that we’ve done some good shows this season. We’ve got, you know, a new cast member, and we’re settling into sort of the routine of this show nicely. I think that we’re enjoying it and hopefully coming up with some stories that people will be glad to watch and laugh at.

From where you are now in production, what can you share about Dan Fielding this season and his current adjustment to Julianne Walters joining the team?

LARROQUETTE: He’s reticent at first, thinking that, you know, she tried to ruin his life last year. As the shows have gone on, we sort of burnished the very sharp, insane edges of her personality. We don’t want them to be dull at all because she’s still a wild card and can still go crazy, which is good for comedy and good for Dan to always sort of be okay, but also I’m not sure [about you]. That’s good comedy fodder. As we are now settled in this family of this cast, we start learning more about the inner lives of the characters, of Wyatt (Nyambi Nyambi) and Gurgs (Lacretta), and all of us. We’re now settled as it were. Now we just have to continue to write funny shows that people want to come and watch.

Speaking of being settled into this new rhythm with all of you here, has your rapport with Wendie Malick changed from her jump from a recurring character now into a series regular? What makes her a great scene partner for you to bounce back and forth with?

LARROQUETTE: Well, I think there’s the contemporary aspect of it a little bit as far as, you know, she’s much younger than I, at least only skipping one generation behind, not two or three or four or whatever. The fact that she’s attractive and funny and yet dangerous. I think that Fielding has sort of moved into that okay. At first, he was very reluctant – “What are you nuts, to have her around here?” But it became clear that she wasn’t interested in ruining his life anymore; but, she’s interested in prodding him, which is good for comedy. I think that as the shows go on, we’ll learn more about their characters. I don’t think there’s any kind of relationship thing going on, but it’s always nice to dangle that a little bit in scripts to see.

I mean, some of the best comedies have that edge of “could this lean into more of a romance, could it not?” With your character’s history with her, there definitely have been some sparks in the past.

LARROQUETTE: Yes, there has. I think that those sparks should remain and maybe investigated once in a while. I’ve said this a thousand times, but I mean, once characters that are like that, that are sort of flirty with each other, but sexy with each other… well not sexy, nobody’s sexy at 75 years old. If you would consummate something like that or go further, then what? So you’ve got to keep everybody at a bit of a distance but always hinting at a possibility. I think actually cementing that is, it’s the death of comedy.

John Larroquette Shares Why He Believes ‘Night Court’ Has Continued To Keep Its 30+ Year Audience

You mentioned earlier that it’s important that you’re making episodes and shows that are going to make people laugh. I know that you’re a producer of the show. Thinking about plans for Season 3, what’s important for you as a producer to go to the drawing board and see what you want to accomplish throughout the season?

LARROQUETTE: Again, the idea is to have stories that are relatable but a little crazy, that are not stuck in time. Night Court has never been a topical program. It’s not Murphy Brown by any stretch of the imagination. We don’t really care about what’s happening in the real world. If you tune into an episode of this, it should be that you can just laugh at it today or five years from now watching it. I only know this through reading fan mail that people that watched an episode that was 35 years ago still find it funny today. That we are presenting the audience with 22 minutes of jokes, basically, is what I wanna do. So I never wanna get mundane or morose. If you have a serious subject, fine, but by the end of the episode, it should be resolved and funny. That’s the only criteria I have for these episodes.

I think it speaks to the longevity of Night Court that you do have this built-in audience and that you have been able to remain, not as topical, but still in the zeitgeist and be able to make people laugh. For you, what do you think it is about your character, Dan Fielding, that has been so attractive to audiences? Why do you think people like him as a character?

LARROQUETTE: I used to have long conversations about this with Reinhold Weege, the creator of Night Court. I think that the bad boy aspect of Dan Fielding’s history is something that people enjoy watching. I think also, as long as there was a person who could knock him down a peg by the end of an episode, and it usually was Harry [Stone] (Harry Anderson) or Christine Sullivan (Markie Post) or whoever he was with. That Dan Fielding himself, no matter how unctuous his behavior might have been in a particular episode, can sort of parenthetically look at the audience as a character, not directly, of course, but go, “Listen, I know I’m a jerk, but what can I do? I can’t help it.” That he had a good heart, even though he was obnoxious and egotistical and misanthropic a lot. He was not a bad person at heart, and I think that’s what I really wanted to pull into this one, because I can’t do the comedy I did in the ’80s, physically or emotionally. I’m 35 years older than I was then. But that sort of misanthropic thread that he’s still not crazy about humanity. So he can sometimes talk to the audience in the world about, you know, we’re crazy. We’re all crazy and people really are sometimes idiots, stupid people, aren’t they? He can say that, and the audience can go, “Yeah, you know?”

LARROQUETTE: Now listen, I don’t compare myself to this at all, but like Ricky Gervais does in his standup where he points out the shortcomings of being a human being. I think in the old Dan Fielding, he embodied a lot of those shortcomings, but every once in a while, he would look at the camera and go, “Yeah, but I just can’t help it, you know? I’ll try to be better next time.” Being an older man now, when you try to find the comedy of what’s funny now, you look for those little tidbits, but also too, he’s got a big heart. He wouldn’t be in this world now, as we see him, had it not been Harry Stone’s daughter who knocked on his door to try to drag him out of his apartment. His surrogate father emotions are very strong with her and that helps him be in this world again.

John Larroquette Highlights the Importance of Dan and Abby’s Relationship

Speaking of that relationship, Dan’s relationship with Abby is so core to Night Court in this iteration. What can you share about how we see their relationship grow? Is it challenged at all throughout the season?

LARROQUETTE: Yeah, I think challenged, temporarily. Almost every episode is going to be challenged so much where she just gets fed up with him for whatever he’s doing. He thinks, “You’re so naive. You don’t understand how the real world works. I’ve got to show you that people are stupid and untrustworthy and not worth your, you know.” And by the end of the episode, they’re sitting on the couch, and I say being in love with each other, but as a father and a daughter might be in love with each other. Just really care enough about each other to walk through crap with them, and I think that will continue. There will be times when they are partners; there will be times when they are accomplices. There will be times when they are knocking heads with each other to try to figure out something about what they’re supposed to be doing or taking advantage of her. He doesn’t like that at all when somebody tries to do that. I think when you think about a father and a daughter the kind of relationship that they might have, which is filled with love, but sometimes is difficult to live through.

I’ve got time for one more question for you. This is kind of a broader question. John, you’ve been a part of TV comedy throughout the decades, and you have seen it evolve over time. What excites you about where sitcoms stand in the current landscape of television?

LARROQUETTE: Well, it depends on what kind of television we’re talking about. On the streaming side of things, where you can be a little more easy with language and situations where you’re not confined to eight-minute acts because of commercials. The idea of doing that kind of comedy is very exciting. I mean, I’m looking forward to Nathan Lane’s sitcom that he’s doing with Linda Lavin [Mid-Century Modern]. I had a friend who was on that recently, that kind of stuff. But I mean, in situation comedies on network television, if you just can make people laugh for 22 minutes, there’s nothing better. I think that the best ones still do that. They did it in the ’50s and ’60s and continued on, you know, the stuff that I grew up with. From I Love Lucy to The Honeymooners to whatever we watched, in those days to now, it’s still the same object to have people tune in, and enjoy sitting there for a half hour laughing. So, I think there’s a lot of that out there both on network and streaming.

Thank you so much John for chatting with me.

Night Court returns to NBC on November 19.

Watch on Peacock

Release Date January 17, 2023 Cast Melissa Rauch , India de Beaufort , Kapil Talwalkar , Dan Rubin , John Larroquette Rating Seasons 1 Network NBC Expand