Why Is the ‘Night Court’ Revival Such a Massive Hit?

NBC might have their biggest comedy hit in years. Just a few episodes in, the reboot of 1980s classic Night Court has earned an early pick-up for Season 2. The revival boasts the highest ratings for a comedy series on NBC in years, since 2017 (when the network revived Will & Grace). More than 7 million folks tuned in for the pilot, over double what Abbott Elementary averages on ABC. How did NBC manage to create such a hit out of such a retro show?

The new Night Court reboot has joined the ranks of Abbott Elementary, Yellowstone, and Young Sheldon as a series that proves linear TV is not dead in the wake of the streaming wars. As HBO Max removes shows from their platform and Netflix penalizes viewers for sharing accounts, NBC is quietly coming out with one of the biggest hits of 2023 so far. After a widely-shared article in The New York Times explained the hype around the reboot, all eyes are on Night Court.

The original Night Court isn’t available to stream on major platforms like Netflix or Hulu, making the revival’s success even more surprising. While people interested in the upcoming Frasier reboot, for example, are able to watch old episodes on Paramount+, there’s no way to catch up on Night Court—and it hasn’t had the same streaming resurgence to explain its popularity, like That ’70s Show.

Court Is Back in Session

The revival follows the same basic plot as the original, with new faces subbing in for similar roles. Judge Abby Stone (Melissa Rauch) follows in the footsteps of her father, the late Judge Harry T. Stone (Harry Anderson), as a judge at a New York night court. There, she gets into shenanigans with lawyers Olivia (India de Beaufort) and returning star Dan Fielding (John Laroquette). There are plenty of cameos from the original show to spark nostalgia.

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The reviews for this Night Court reboot have been pretty good, though not overwhelmingly positive, coming in at 71 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Considering the middling-reviews, the dated vibe of the show, and the lack of prominence on any streaming service, Night Court’s major success is a bit of an anomaly. So what’s behind its popularity?

NBC canceled the original series ahead of its eighth season, but immediately revived it for a ninth season after the success of Seinfeld, hoping ratings might improve. They still dwindled, leading to the show’s ultimate cancellation. But at the beginning of its run, Night Court was, for the large part, pretty popular.

Reboots have been en vogue in the latest generation of television, considering we’ve seen linear programs like That ’70s Show, How I Met Your Mother, and Sex and the City revamped by streamers over the past year. But for the most part, the skyrocketing number of splashy reboots in the past decade has come from the streaming wars, not network television. And rebooting a less popular series—Night Court, in this case—is a daring choice from NBC.

The incredibly massive success of Night Court might be owed to one person—or one previous show. Perhaps The Big Bang Theory is to thank for the show’s popularity, as Rauch starred as Bernadette in the massive hit for over 200 episodes. Night Court not only stars Rauch in the leading role, but she also produced the show and came up with the revival concept.

Rauch’s Big Bang Theory co-stars have found similar success in their breakout series and ventures. Kaley Cuoco, for example, earned Emmy nominations for her critically-acclaimed performance in The Flight Attendant. Mayim Bialik has found success hosting Jeopardy! and her sitcom Call Me Kat. Simon Helberg just starred in the Peacock series Poker Face. Then there’s the success of Young Sheldon as proof for how loyal fans of The Big Bang Theory are.

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t give a shoutout to 30 Rock, which, time and time again, has boasted the ability to predict the future. MILF Manor was just ripped straight out of a sketch from Tina Fey’s NBC sitcom, and now, Night Court’s reboot is too.

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Night Court’s success does feel like a bit of an irregularity. Not only is it doing well, the ratings are incredible, only dipping slightly week after week. There’s no way to forecast exactly why America has taken a liking to this, but who doesn’t like a bit of an underdog story?

Night Court airs every Tuesday on NBC at 8 p.m. ET.

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