Following a strong start, Night Court is staying in session at NBC.
The network has picked up a second season of the comedy, a sequel to the 1984-92 series that stars The Big Bang Theory alum Melissa Rauch and John Larroquette. The show’s premiere delivered NBC’s biggest comedy audience in more than five years, and subsequent episodes have continued to put up decent numbers.
“It’s so rewarding to have audiences respond and return to a show in which they have such incredibly warm feelings, and, more broadly, it’s testament to how broadcast is still a huge driver of communal viewing,” said Lisa Katz, president scripted content at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “A huge thank you to our studio partners, a wonderful cast, incredibly talented writers and producers, and a crew that has transformed a lower Manhattan courtroom into a true family.”
Warner Bros. Television, which was behind the original series, produces Night Court in association with Rauch’s After January Productions and Universal Television. Dan Rubin writes and executive produces along with Melissa Rauch and Winston Rauch. Larroquette is a producer.
The verdict is in and the ‘new-boot’ of Night Court is a hit! The series’ razor-sharp humor makes the show a weekly must watch,” said Warner Bros. Television Group chairman and CEO Channing Dungey. “We’re overjoyed that court will remain in session and return with new cases for season two. We’re so grateful to our colleagues at NBC, to the richly talented creative team led by Melissa Rauch, Winston Rauch, Dan Rubin and John Larroquette, and to the stellar ensemble cast.”
Night Court is also set to remain in production after wrapping its first season, sources say, as a hedge against potential union strikes in the spring and summer (fellow early NBC renewals Quantum Leap and La Brea are taking the same approach). With the Writers Guild’s contract with TV producers up in May and SAG-AFTRA and Directors Guild agreements expiring at the end of June, any work stoppages would likely delay the arrival of network scripted series past the usual September launch period. Continuing production will allow broadcasters to have at least a sprinkling of scripted programming available should a strike by one or more of the unions happen.
Night Court premiered to 7.55 million viewers on Jan. 17, NBC’s biggest comedy premiere since September 2017. Subsequent episodes have come down, the show is still averaging better than 6 million same-day viewers; NBC says multi-platform viewing pushed the series debut above 10 million viewers after three days, and that more than 25 million people have watched at least a few minutes of the series premiere across all platforms in the past two weeks.
