Tuesday, May 04, 2021

NBC Orders Night Court Revival to Pilot; House of Payne and Assisted Living Return May 25 and Ordered for Additional Season

Melissa Rauch and John Larroquette

NBC has ordered the Night Court revival script to a pilot order. So, if it gets picked up to series, we will have Night Court back on NBC once again sometime in 2021-22, nearly 30 years after the series ended in 1992. Based on the original series created by Reinhold Weege, unapologetic optimist judge Abby Stone (series star Melissa Rauch), the daughter of the late Harry Stone, follows in her father's footsteps as she presides over the night shift of a Manhattan arraignment court and tries to bring order to its crew of oddballs and cynics, most notably former night court prosecutor Dan Fielding (series star John Larroquette). No word on if any of the other original cast members will make appearances, which include Markie Post, Richard Moll, Charles Robinson and Marsha Warfield. A few members of the cast of Night Court (the late Harry Anderson, Markie Post, and Charles Robinson) reunited on an episode of 30 Rock back in 2008.

A true multi-hyphenate, Ms. Rauch is coming off the hit CBS/Warner Bros. TV comedy series The Big Bang Theory, which celebrated its final season in 2019. After The Big Bang Theory, Melissa appeared in Steven Soderbergh's The Laundromat, alongside Meryl Streep, as well as Ode to Joy, opposite Martin Freeman. John Larroquette most recently joined the cast of The Good Fight on CBS All Access, and starred on the CBS comedy series Me, Myself & I. He has recurred on ABC on both The Practice and Boston Legal. His work on The Practice garnered Larroquette two of his seven total Emmy nominations and one of his five wins. The others were for his previous work on NBC's Night Court, which enjoyed a nine-season run for a whopping 193 episodes from 1984-1992. Larroquette won four consecutive Emmys for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his portrayal of Dan Fielding from 1985 to 1988, before withdrawing his name from the ballot in 1989. Night Court itself was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series three times (1985, 1987, and 1988). Night Court scribe Dan Rubin's credits include his tenure for the full-run of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (where he was nominated for four Emmys and three WGA awards). He continued his work with Tina Fey and the Kimmy Schmidt producers, working on their latest project Mulligan over at Netflix. He also recently served as a Co-Executive Producer on Fox's series Outmatched. Other credits include Happy Endings, Scrubs, Worst Week and The Michael J. Fox Show.


Tyler Perry's House of Payne - Keshia Knight Pulliam, Allen Payne and Cassi Davis Patton

This May, come home to BET for a night of Black joy, entertainment, and MORE of the Tyler Perry content we all can't get enough of; you bring the family, we'll bring the funny. New episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne season eight and Tyler Perry's Assisted Living season two return Tuesday, May 25, starting at 9 PM ET/PT on BET and BET Her. Executive Produced by Tyler Perry, House of Payne and Assisted Living occupied the #1 and #2 spots for comedy series on cable for African Americans 18-49, 25-54 in the calendar year 2020, respectively. In anticipation of their premieres, BET has green-lit Tyler Perry's House of Payne for a ninth season and Tyler Perry's Assisted Living for a third season.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - David Mann and Tamela Mann

The eighth season of the hilarious comedy House of Payne features retired fire chief Curtis Payne and his lovely wife Ella. Together the loving couple navigates the problems of life with their quirky modern-day family. In season two of Tyler Perry's comedy series Assisted Living, Mr. Brown, Cora, and the gang open their Assisted Living facility and a hilarious variety of personalities come to live in the home, bringing with them a ton of laughs and experiences.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, August 29

Happy's Place - "The Doctor Is Out" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Bobbie praises Steve's progress with his OCD, he decides he's finally ready to quit therapy; Gabby embarks on a side hustle enlisting ambassadors to sell bracelets for a third party.

Happy's Place - "Alarm Bells" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Isabella requests Emmett's help getting a security system installed, Bobbie claims she can protect her sister better than any alarm or man, leading to Bobbie and Emmett having a competition over who's the better protector.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 25)

Friday, August 29

  • Nicole Byer (Grand Crew/Loosely Exactly Nicole) - Nicole guest hosts a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Timothy Olyphant (Stick/Santa Clarita Diet) - Watch Timothy on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Austin Butler (Ruby & the Rockits/Zoey 101/Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide) - Austin is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Jenna Ortega (Stuck in the Middle/Richie Rich) - Jenna appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Clifton Davis (Amen/That's My Mama) - Clifton makes a special appearance on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Sabrina Carpenter (Girl Meets World) - Co-host Gayle King sits down with Sabrina on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
  • Danielle Pinnock (Ghosts/Young Sheldon) - Danielle talks about Ghosts on a repeat on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
  • David Zayas (The Bear) - David talks about The Bear and Paramount+'s Dexter: Resurrection on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour.
  • Regina King (The Boondocks/Leap of Faith/227) - Regina talks about Caught Stealing on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
  • Kel Mitchell (Game Shakers/Kenan & Kel) - NBC's Today catches up with Kel in the 9am hour. He will also be on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:15am.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

08/29 - HBO's Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television; Adult Swim Slates Two Series for October
08/28 - NBC's Password Renewed for Season 3 for 2026; Pluto TV Streaming CBS Shows Ahead of Fall Season
08/27 - Hulu's Deli Boys Renewed for Season 2 with Fred Armisen; HBO's I Love LA Premieres November 2
08/26 - English Teacher Returns on FX for Season 2; Jesse Williams Prime Video Series Trailer
08/25 - Doc Season 2 Trailer for Fox; Remembering David Ketchum and Jerry Adler
08/24 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 25, 2025)
08/23 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Home Improvement Cast Members to Reunite on Shifting Gears; The Paper to Have Binge Drop
08/22 - Hulu's Futurama Season 13 Trailer; A Man on the Inside Returns November 20 on Netflix
08/21 - George Lopez Coming to COZI TV; The Morning Show Season 4 Trailer
08/20 - Welcome Back, Kotter 50th Anniversary Marathon on Rewind TV; Apple TV+ Palm Royale Season 2 Premieres November 12
08/19 - Antenna TV's Archie Bunker's Place Labor Day Marathon; Larry the Cable Guy Prime Video Special
08/18 - Nobody Wants This Season 2 Premieres October 23; HGTV and Retta Continue Partnership
08/17 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 18, 2025)
08/16 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Paramount Plans Retool of Cable Networks; King of the Hill Revival Scores Big Ratings
08/15 - Catchy Comedy Acquires Hot in Cleveland; Netflix's Animated Comedy Strip Law Premieres in 2026
08/14 - Dan Levy's Netflix Comedy Series Cast; Betty la Fea: La Historia ContinĂșa Season 2 Premieres Friday
08/13 - Remembering Danielle Spencer of What's Happening!!; Trailer for Season 5 of Only Murders in the Building
08/12 - Netflix's Comedy Kiss or Die Premieres September 9; Lori Harvey Joins Reasonable Doubt
08/11 - Roku Originals Books a Return Trip with Season 2 Renewal of Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross; Netflix's Fixed Trailer
08/10 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 11, 2025)
08/09 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Trailer Released for The Paper; ABC Gives Pilot Order to Do You Want Kids?
08/08 - Wizards Beyond Waverly Place Season 2 Premieres September 12; The Paper Trailer for Peacock
08/07 - Special Forces: World's Toughest Test Season 4 Celebs; Sweetpea Season 2 Stars
08/06 - Molly Shannon Joins Will Ferrell Golf Comedy Series; Netflix's Season 2 of My Life with the Walter Boys
08/05 - Disney+ Musical Comedy Electric Bloom Premieres; NBC Renews American Ninja Warrior for Season 18
08/04 - Remembering Loni Anderson of WKRP in Cincinnati; And Just Like That... to End After 3 Seasons
08/03 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 4, 2025)
08/02 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Family Guy Specials Coming to Hulu; Jimmy Kimmel Rooting for Emmy for Stephen Colbert
08/01 - Long Story Short Gets Season 2 Ahead of Premiere; Netflix's Wayward Premieres September 25
07/31 - Solar Opposites Final Season on Hulu; Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical
07/30 - FETV Acquires The Jeffersons, Uncut; BET+ Comedy Churchy Returns August 21, BET Greenlights Sketch Comedy Series
07/29 - NBC Fall 2025 Premiere Dates; Fox Fall 2025 Premiere Dates