How Did the Original 'Night Court' Series End? The Comedy Is Being Revived on NBC
Published Jan. 17 2023, 6:01 p.m. ET
Everyone who has ever worked a night shift knows that the vibe is just different in the dark at work, from the job itself to your co-workers. No sitcom series embodied the late night shift vibe better than NBC's Night Court, a comedy show that ran from January 1984 to May 1992.
Like any good sitcom series, Night Court is getting its own revival, which is set to debut on NBC on Jan. 17, 2023, at 8 p.m. EST. So how did the original Night Court series actually end anyway? It's been a while, after all.
Abby hopes to follow in her father's footsteps in the 'Night Court' revival series.
How did the original 'Night Court' end?
In the Night Court revival series, Abby Stone (Melissa Rauch) dreams of following in her father's footsteps as a night court judge. Back in the original Night Court, Abby's father, Harry Stone (Harry Anderson), was the presiding judge of the night court, ruling over prosecutors and public defenders like Dan Fielding (John Larroquette) and Christine Sullivan (Markle Post) with an iron, legal fist of justice (and magic. Harry was an aspiring magician).
Think of Night Court like a scripted version of Judge Judy, except way funnier. Each episode involved Judge Harry Stone presiding over a variety of strange, comedic cases during the night shift at a court in Manhattan. For example, how did a group of old and new Trekkies end up in court, and why?
Night Court covered hilarious cases like the gatekeeping Trekkies for nine seasons, So did the show end on a high note?
A review of the Night Court series finale from Entertainment Weekly in 1992 summed up the original Night Court ending as "one of the flattest final episodes you’ve ever sat through."
The original Night Court ending involved Judge Stone contemplating other job opportunities, like a chance to go on tour with his musical idol or a proposition to leave court to become a professor at Columbia Law School.
Meanwhile, Dan Fielding finally realizes the error of his playboy ways when he nearly gets married to someone he doesn't love. He doesn't go through with the nuptials, realizing he's loved Christine all along.
One of the night court's bailiffs, Nostradamus Shannon (Richard Moll), literally has an encounter with extraterrestrials. We told you, weird things always happen during the night shift! Weirdness aside, Christine ends up winning a seat in Congress. At least someone ended on a high note!
Where can you stream the original 'Night Court'?
New episodes of the Night Court revival series air on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. EST on NBC (you can stream the episodes afterward on Peacock).
You can also stream episodes of the original Night Court series on Roku TV, or you can rent episodes on Prime Video (fans can watch the pilot episode of the original Night Court series for free on Prime, with ads).
The two-episode series premiere of the Night Court revival debuts tonight from 8-9 p.m. EST on NBC. Did we mention John is returning as public defender Dan Fielding? Tune in for more late Night Court shenanigans!
