Releasing new episodes on Tuesdays, Night Court Season 3 premieres November 19th at 8:30pm ET/PT on NBC. The multi-camera sitcom ended on a major cliffhanger, leaving fans reeling long after the Season 2 finale faded from their screens. “The Best Dan” sees Melissa Rauch’s character Abby decide to take the next step in her relationship with Jake (Ryan Hansen) at Roz’s (Marsha Warfield) wedding. However, she makes a surprising discovery when she talks to Jake’s mother.
Susan reveals that she dated a lawyer who worked at the Manhattan court about a year before her son was born. Abby appears to be in shock, suddenly noticing an uncanny resemblance between Dan and her boyfriend. The episode ends with Flobert coming to the same conclusion and telling Abby that Jake could be Dan’s biological son (and that he’s out of cookies).
TelaRant participates in a roundtable with John Larroquette and Nyambi Nyambi, who discuss what fans can expect when Night Court season 3 returns and the importance of honoring original cast members.
Larroquette Teases Psychological and Spiritual Changes for Dan In Night Court Season 3
“There are lots of opportunities for comedy and heartfelt emotions.”
ScreenRant: John, I need to ask you about that giant cliffhanger we left off at the end of Season 2. There is a possibility that Dan is a father. What can you tease about this in season three?
John Larroquette: If you watch Season 2, you know it ended with the possibility that Abby’s boyfriend is Dan Fielding’s son and an old flame from the ’80s, and we’ll find out more of that in the first two episodes of Season 3. I prefer not to go any further, as people are surprised by the result, but it is a possibility.
And psychologically and spiritually, Fielding goes through some changes during the questioning process until the facts are known. So we’ll see. And it’s fun too. It’s fun because of Abby’s emotional connection to it, too. There’s plenty of opportunity for comedy and heartfelt emotion in that whirlwind of “What happens if…?”
CinemaBlend: To build on that, John, did you know this was a possible cliffhanger when Jake was introduced, and what did you think of Ryan Hansen being cast as his possible secret son?
John Larroquette: Yes, being an executive producer on the show, I’m very aware of all the areas that we’re going to cover and Dan Rubin and I have talked about that a lot. When Ryan first appeared as an HR colleague in that episode, he had great comedic timing and is a really handsome and fun guy to be around.
He is a real player. I learned more about it from my youngest son, Benjamin, who is also the composer of Night Court. He was a real fan of his in Party Down, so he clued me in and said, “You have to watch him.” And then I watched his work there and became a fan of his too.
Nyambi hopes Wyatt works through his feelings in Night Court season 3
“It will be more pain and anguish, which is always fun.”
ScreenRant: Nyambi, Roz’s marriage was a little difficult for Wyatt. This brought up some uncomfortable feelings about their divorce. Will we see him overcome this and start moving forward this season?
Nyambi Nyambi: I hope so. I hope we can see myself getting through this, because it will be more pain and anguish, which is always fun. Always fun. But what I love so far is how much you get to see him be a father. I think you’ll see me get over this and not be the same kind of cool, fun single man I was before kids. Certainly before I had a wife and then I didn’t.
John Larroquette: We have a little hint of that, don’t we? With comics? The fact that Wyatt has all these big plans for what the night would be like, and he ends up dressing up in the costume that his daughters made him wear. So he’s definitely a father, and I certainly see an episode where we see more of that. Where his man comes out, but even so the father is prominent and has to be used.
Nyambi Nyambi: My superpower will be “dad!”
CinemaBlend: Nyambi, one of the funniest episodes last season was when you were working with Melissa Fumero because of their sort of dysfunctional relationship. Do you see him being more ready for a relationship in season three?
Nyambi Nyambi: No, I feel like it’s getting worse and worse. The further I get from my twenties, the worse it gets. When I see basketball players, whenever they were at their best, their hairstyles were right up there. So when they’re forty, fifty, sixty, they have the same hairstyle as when they were at the top of their game. I feel like it will be me. Whatever I was at the top of my game, I’m still trying to give it, and it’s just not working.
ScreenRant: Could we meet Wyatt’s kids or his ex-wife this season?
Nyambi Nyambi: That’s a great question. If I were an executive producer, I could tell you. I wish we had an executive producer here to brief us. [Looks at John Larroquette] I hope so.
John Larroquette: The reality is we don’t think that far ahead. There’s no big biblical arc to this particular show. It’s like, “What’s going to happen this week?” And certainly the stories endure, and they intertwine, as we discovered with the cliffhanger from season two to this one. And even the first show of this season is still a cliffhanger. Even in the second show this season, nothing is really resolved in the premiere episode.
But as we talk about show ideas, all of this will come up. But there’s no way, “Oh, in episode 7, we’re going to meet Wyatt’s ex-wife.” We don’t think too far ahead because you’re working so hard on the show that week to make it as funny as possible. These ideas come to you and then you write them down and put them aside and put them on a board somewhere and talk about them as we go along.
But all these things we created are ready to be explored. Wyatt’s kids, Wyatt’s ex-wife, God knows who, but that could be nonsense. Suddenly she appears, preferably as a defendant, and has actually been arrested for something, and then we go from there. Let’s see what happens. None of this has really been discussed yet.
Larroquette doesn’t see a romance happening between Dan and Julianne in Night Court season 3
“We’ll find out what that is as we go along, but for the moment, she and Fielding are now mates.”
ScreenRant: We know Wendie Malick will be the new prosecutor this season. John, what will this complicated relationship be like now that Dan and Julianne face each other in court?
John Larroquette: Yes. Wendie Malick, who is now joining the cast as a permanent member, did some guest scenes with us and was sort of partnered with Fielding for a little bit of weirdness. They never really got together, but they almost did. Obviously, as she becomes a series regular, some of that insanity has to be silenced because we don’t want a really crazy person in our family.
But she’s still very bitter and witty and has her own game to play. We’ll find out what that is as we go along, but for now, she and Fielding are now companions, so to speak. They are co-workers and I think they will be co-conspirators to some extent. To what extent, I don’t know. I certainly don’t see a relationship occurring between them for a long time, if ever, just because you want to keep that option open for as long as possible.
CinemaBlend: Going into season three, do you think Dan would rather see Julianne daily or the Wheelers daily if he had to choose one?
John Larroquette: That’s a good question. I would think probably Julianne daily, because you can only eat so many pigs’ feet, and I have a feeling that’s all the Wheelers can cook.
Larroquette wanted to tackle an original night court storyline
“I helped craft this response very diligently because I wanted to honor Christine [Sullivan] and Markie [Post].”
CinemaBlend: At the end of Season 2, there was a lovely subplot about Christine Sullivan. John, as executive producer, how involved were you in how this was presented to the public?
John Larroquette: Yes, I was. How can I talk about this without being too emotional? I wanted to honor Christine Sullivan, the character, and figure out the best way to do that and not take up too much time or too much story. The original show was never allowed to do a true final episode. There were feelings that perhaps it could be sold elsewhere. I wasn’t a producer at that time. I don’t know all the details, but we weren’t allowed to do a true farewell episode like Cheers did, etc.
The only thing that happened in the episode was that Christine Sullivan left, Dan Fielding said: “I’m following her. I need to keep her,” and Harry said, “What do you mean? My Christine?” And then there’s this triangle that’s been there for a while. Anyway, we find out that Fielding actually followed her, and Fielding actually started a kind of relationship with her, that her heart softens a little towards him, and that Fielding himself realizes that he’s not good enough for her and goes although.
And so, in the final episode, we see Christine’s sister show up at Roz’s wedding. And then there is a confrontation between the two. I helped craft this response very diligently because I wanted to honor Christine and Markie [Post] hiring Gigi Rice, who in a previous incarnation played Markie’s sister in another film. They are very close and we talk about it a lot.
I even talked to Markie’s widower about it, Michael, to get his permission to even mention it. I wouldn’t do it if he thought it would be in bad taste. There was a lot of hype for these moments to allow Fielding to express his love for Christine Sullivan. It was a collaborative effort by many people to complete this storyline.
ScreenRant: Speaking of paying homage, there was a very emotional scene between Dan and Abby in Season 2. He basically gives her a message from his father. What was it like filming this with Melissa and touching another beloved character in this way?
John Larroquette: It’s always very moving. That’s how the show started, with her appearing at Fielding’s Door and being Harry Stone’s daughter. And we had a few moments about that, when emotions were touched because of their relationship with Harry.
In that particular moment, Fielding was trying to do as little as possible, but there was a connection between the three of them, in essence a sort of Harry Houdini: “If there’s life after death, I’ll send you a message, darling” kind of moment. But we don’t want to get sentimental about these interactions and reminiscences. We want to make fun of it, but also make it sincere, and I think that was it.
About Night Court Season 3
In her quest to bring order and dignity to the courtroom and reign in her colorful group of eccentrics, Abby enlists former night court district attorney Dan Fielding (John Larroquette) to serve as the court’s public defender. Still supremely self-confident, Fielding must adapt to a new boss and a new job – standing up for the oppressed. And beneath his arrogant demeanor, there’s an empathetic side to Fielding that Abby is determined to uncover.
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Night Court Season 3 premieres Tuesday, November 19 at 8:30 pm ET.