In May 2022, I had the chance to attend a taping of the returning Night Court series. The original Night Court ran from 1984 to 1992 on NBC. The series is set to return in the 2022/2023 season. As the show hasn’t aired yet, I’m going to avoid spoilers in this article until the episode airs.
Here are some details of the series that have already been made public. The show stars Melissa Rauch, who plays Judge Abby Stone. She is the daughter of Judge Harry Stone, the judge on the original series. John Larroquette returns to Night Court as Dan Fielding, who is now a defending attorney as opposed to a prosecutor. The new prosecutor was played by Ana Villafane in the pilot, but was then replaced by India de Beaufort for the remainder of the season. The court clerk is played by Kapil Talwalkar, and Lacretta plays the new court bailiff.
The set remains basically the same as the original series, with the courtroom, the judge’s chambers, and the cafeteria as the main setting. A number of set pieces are from the original series, including the green couch in the judge’s chambers.
The series is filmed on stage 10 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank. The show is filmed in front of a live studio audience with some extra covid restrictions in place. I had the chance to attend a taping on May 20, 2022. The taping was for episode 107, although the episodes may air out of order.
As is standard with tapings at Warner Bros, I parked in the garage by Gate 4, and then went to the ground floor to check in by 3pm. I had a priority ticket so I was guaranteed admission, but if you have a standby ticket, try to get there a couple hours ahead. There are bathrooms and vending machines to grab drinks and snacks as you wait.
Security came around to check our ID and vaccine passports. They then put a bracelet on us once we were cleared. We waited a while, and then headed across the street into the studio lot. We passed through security metal detectors and then walked to Stage 10.
Due to Covid restrictions, the audience area was not filled to the maximum, and we were all seated with space between people. As is normal for shows with audiences, the show has a warm-up comedian. In this case, it was my friend Bill Sindelar. I met him years ago attending a taping of The Talk, and you can also read an interview with him here. If you get to see him at a taping, count yourself lucky! He’s hilarious and sweet, and really knows how to engage the audience and make the experience entertaining.
The show begins with Bill introducing the cast, and then the sets are revealed and they start filming the show. Each scene is filmed several times, usually with some modified jokes and lines. Sometimes the scene is filmed many times, due to bloopers or technical issues. As Night Court is a new series with a new showrunner, the show was a bit less organized than tapings of long running shows I’ve attended, like The Big Bang Theory. That being said, the cast and crew worked hard, and you can tell they are really invested in this series.
Unlike other tapings, the snacks and drinks were placed on a table outside the studio, instead of being available in the studio. This was probably done due to Covid restrictions, which are quite strict due to union rules.
As the show ended, the audience came out again for their bows, and then the audience headed back to the parking lot. I stuck around with Bill, and it was great to catch up after the show.
Again, without spoilers, I think this series has a lot of potential, and a great cast. I was a fan of the original series, and I’m excited to see more episodes of the new version.
If you are interested in attending a TV taping at some point, check out some of the info here on my site. In addition, you can check with 1iota who distributes tickets to Night Court and many other shows.
