Note: The following story contains spoilers from “Night Court” Season 3, Episode 1.
“Night Court” kicked off Season 3 with an expansion of the parenting mystery set up in the Season 2 finale, which star and EP Melissa Rauch said presents a “major bump in the road” for Abby and Jake’s budding romance.
After leaving off with the unsettling realization that Dan (John Larroquette) might be the biological father of her boyfriend, Jake (Ryan Hansen), Abby (Rauch) goes on a mission to discover the truth — and the stakes are heightened when she realizes Jake’s mom (Julia Duffy) might’ve also dated her father.
“As we were working toward the season finale last year, we knew we wanted to go out on something that would be a story generator that would propel us into Season 3,” Rauch told TheWrap. “[Ryan Hansen] was just supposed to come in for one episode last season playing our HR rep that Abby was sort of crushing on, but he was just so wonderful in every way … we were like, ‘we gotta have him back … let’s get more Jake!’ … We were thrilled to explore their relationship more and and then, of course, see how this major bump in the road plays out.”
While Abby was able to nix the possibility of being siblings with Jake after secretly conducting a DNA test, it’s still unclear whether Jake is Dan’s son by the end of the Season 3 premiere, though Rauch confirmed all will be revealed soon.
“We will find out the the full resolution of the cliffhanger in Episode 2,” Rauch said. “We will get to see more of Jake.”
Below, Rauch discusses India de Beaufort’s exit from the show as Wendie Malick expands her role, and reveals more guest stars who will appear in Season 3.
TheWrap: Last season saw you and the team dealing with the aftermath of the strike. What were your main goals for this season and what did you really want to dig into when it comes to characters and storylines?
Rauch: It’s not lost on me how special it is getting to go into a third season in today’s climate, and I feel just very blessed and grateful that we get to do that and never take for granted how loyal and consistent our audience has been. We were just really excited to launch this new season, wrapping up the cliffhanger from Season 2 … and then we’re really excited to introduce Wendie Malick to the cast who, of course, guest starred so brilliantly over the course of Season 1 and 2, but it’s just a true joy to get to work with her on a daily basis. She’s just such a comedic powerhouse, and to get to be on the show with her is nothing short of amazing.
This season saw India de Beaufort’s Olivia leave as prosecutor and Wendie Malick take her spot. What led to India’s exit?
India will always be such a part of the “Night Court” family, and it’s really just very much in the tradition of the original show for there to be a natural and organic evolution of the cast structure. It’s sort of inherent in the DNA of the show to bring in fresh voices and perspectives and characters, and that’s just what happened here.
Why did you want to expand Wendie’s character more and what fun storylines has it opened up?
From moment one, there was such an electricity with Wendie when she came to our set and just such a perfect fit for our show, just even in those two original guest spots that she did, and she brings such a layered performance to this character. It’s really wonderful to get to see her fold into this workplace ensemble and family with this really interesting dynamic, because obviously she’s fresh out of prison and has this history with Dan Fielding. Getting to see that electric energy between her and John out of the gate and and how that’s going to play out … it’s a really cool dynamic, and we’re all just enjoying getting to play that so much.
What can you tease about how the new dynamic between Abby and Julianne comes together?
Abby and Julianne have very different styles, but I also think opposites attract in many ways. There’s things that Abby can learn from Julianne, and it’s really fun getting to play that new relationship with her, because when Julianne had been here in earlier seasons, she hadn’t been in the courtroom, of course, so getting to see her as the really bad-ass lawyer that she is, and have that workplace relationship between her and Abby is a really interesting storyline to get to dive into.
Julia Duffy was hilarious in that hospital scene. What was it like playing opposite her?
Oh my goodness, Julia is just … a dynamo, and I love her so much. I was so excited when she said “yes” to playing this role, because I was such a fan of hers from “Newhart.” She’s always been, much like Wendie Malick, such a comedy idol of mine. The day that I got to walk on set, I was like, “Oh my God, there’s Julia Duffy and there’s Wendie Malick.” I just pinched myself over and over again. She’s incredible — she’s such a master at this format, and I really, really adore her in every way. She’s not only a wonderful actor, but just such a terrific human as well.
We’re excited to see Mayim Bialik guest star this season. Can we expect to see Marsha Warfield come back?
Marsha is in a really, really hilarious episode, and I love any chance that I get to work with her. I just continue to be completely in awe of her and her razor sharp delivery. She’s just phenomenal. Marsha will be back. We have the Wheelers back again. Gary Anthony Williams is back again — (he’s) become such a integral part of the “Night Court” family. Jessica St. Clair, Brent Spiner, Annie O’Donnell, Nico Santos … Eden Sher, Joe Lo Truglio, Andy Daly, Kate Flannery … Betsy Sodaro. We were very fortunate to have this wonderful revolving door of actors come in last year and this year is no different.
What are some things about Abby’s character you’re really excited to dig into this season?
We’ll be seeing a lot of additional layers to her this season as she navigates some of the things that are coming at her … There’s some really heartfelt and heartwarming moments that [the writers] just did such a beautiful job crafting, and are always so special to get to play. I think such a touchstone for this show is the connection to those legacy characters, and so when we are able to dip into those moments, it always makes for not only really wonderful moments of nostalgia, but also these emotional pockets that I think ground the show in the heart and soul of what it is. Something that’s really special about the relationships that have formed between the characters within this cast is the love for one another. There’s just everywhere you look, there’s just another relationship that has formed that I think has become really such a paramount focus of this workplace family, and I’m just really, I’m really proud of the fact that not only do we have these wonderful moments of like heightened, cranked-up comedy, but I think at the end of the day, it’s how these characters feel about each other that that roots the show in this heart.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
“Night Court” airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT and streams the next day on Peacock.
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