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

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

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.

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

Thursday, March 12

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Big Birthday and Tequila Shots" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Mandy struggles to celebrate Georgie’s 21st birthday after hitting a rough patch in her career.

Ghosts - "St. Hetty’s Day 2: The Help" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
A St. Patrick’s Day staffing emergency gives Hetty the chance to step into an unlikely role at the restaurant as she regains her once-a-year ability to be seen and heard by the living. Meanwhile, Kyle returns to watch over the ghosts and finds himself caught in an amusing supernatural dynamic.

Animal Control - "Squirrels and Fat Cats" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Frank uncovers Emily and Shred's secret romance during a break-in at city supply; Victoria and Patel confront his daughter's school bully.

Going Dutch - "Tinker, Tailor, Colonel, Spy" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Rick takes a sabbatical from the CIA and returns to the base, hoping to rekindle his strained relationship with Capt. Maggie; paranoia runs high when a mole is suspected to be operating inside the base.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 9)

Thursday, March 12

Will Forte (The Four Seasons/HouseBroken/MacGruber/The Last Man on Earth/The Cleveland Show) - Catch Will on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Minnie Driver (Emily in Paris/Speechless/About a Boy) - Minnie is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Wanda Sykes (The Upshaws/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Wanda at Large) - Wanda appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Robert Smigel (Let's Be Real) - Robert stops by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Kristin Chenoweth (Stumble/Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Jennifer Tilly (Out of Practice) - Andy Cohen interviews Jennifer on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo.
Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan talks about Broadway's Death of a Salesman with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Ariana DeBose (Schmigadoon!) - Ariana joins Tamron to talk about her fashion evolution and her role in the all-star cast of the new series Scarpetta on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Lauren Graham (The Z-Suite/M.Y.O.B./Conrad Bloom/Townies/Good Company) - Lauren talks about Reminders of Him on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - NBC's Today catches up with Valerie in the 10am hour.
Phil Rosenthal (Creator of Everybody Loves Raymond) - Phil and Lily Rosenthal join Drew for a taste test of weird foods and talk about their children's book Just Try It! Someplace New! (A Phil & Lil Book) on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.