Night Court | |
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Genre | Sitcom |
Created by | Reinhold Weege |
Starring | |
Opening theme | Jack Elliott |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 9 |
No. of episodes | 193 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Camera setup | Multi-camera |
Running time | 23–24 minutes |
Production companies |
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Distributor | Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Picture format | NTSC |
Audio format | Stereo |
Original release | January 4, 1984 – May 31, 1992 |
Night Court is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984, to May 31, 1992. The series is set in the night shift of a Manhattan Criminal Court presided over by a young, unorthodox judge, Harold "Harry" T. Stone (portrayed by Harry Anderson). The series was created by comedy writer Reinhold Weege, who had previously worked on Barney Miller in the 1970s and early 1980s.
The judge
The public defenders
The prosecutor
The bailiffs
The court clerks
The only actors to appear consistently throughout the show's run were Anderson, Larroquette, and Moll.
Every episode of Night Court opens and closes with a jazz-influenced, bass-heavy theme tune composed by Jack Elliott, featuring Ernie Watts on saxophone while featuring video footage of prominent New York City landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge and the New York County Courthouse.
Night Court's theme was used in the season-5 Family Guy episode "Bill & Peter's Bogus Journey", featuring animations of former US President Bill Clinton playing saxophone along with Secret Service musicians playing backup.
Night Court's theme was sampled for the remix to Cam'Ron's 1998 single "Horse & Carriage". It was produced by Darrell "Digga" Branch and featured Big Pun, Charli Baltimore, Wyclef Jean, and Silkk the Shocker.
Following the end credits theme music, a distinctive laugh can be heard dubbed over the vanity logo displaying producer Reinhold Weege's "Starry Night Productions". [2] This same laugh can be heard coming from the studio audience throughout numerous seasons of Night Court. At first it was thought to be the canned laugh of voice actor Mel Blanc or even star Harry Anderson; but in fact, it was the laugh of Chuck Weege, Reinhold's father, who attended nearly all of the tapings in person.[ citation needed ]
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | Rank | Rating | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | |||||
1 | 13 | January 4, 1984 | May 31, 1984 | 41 | 12.7 | |
2 | 22 | September 27, 1984 | May 9, 1985 | 20 | 17.6 | |
3 | 22 | September 26, 1985 | May 8, 1986 | 11 | 20.9 | |
4 | 22 | October 2, 1986 | May 6, 1987 | 7 | 23.2 | |
5 | 22 | September 17, 1987 | May 12, 1988 | 7 | 20.8 | |
6 | 22 | October 26, 1988 | May 3, 1989 | 21 | 16.9 | |
7 | 24 | September 27, 1989 | May 2, 1990 | 28 | 14.5 [lower-alpha 1] | |
8 | 24 | September 28, 1990 | May 8, 1991 | 50 | 11.5 | |
9 | 22 | September 18, 1991 | May 13, 1992 | 46 | 12.0 |
Night Court received a number of awards and nominations. Both Selma Diamond (in 1985) and John Larroquette (in 1988) earned Golden Globe nominations, but lost to Faye Dunaway and Rutger Hauer, respectively. Paula Kelly was nominated for an Emmy after the first season. Larroquette won four consecutive Emmys for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series from 1985 to 1988, before he withdrew his name from the ballot in 1989. Selma Diamond was nominated in 1985, and Anderson received three nominations in 1985, 1986, and 1987. The series received three nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1985, 1987, and 1988. The series also received many awards and nominations in the areas of lighting, editing, sound mixing, and technical direction. The show was nominated for 31 Emmys, winning seven.
American Comedy Awards | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Category / Episode | Recipient / Nominee | Results | Ref |
1990 | Funniest Supporting Male Performer in a Television Series | John Larroquette | Nominated | [3] |
Casting Society of America | ||||
Year | Category / Episode | Recipient / Nominee | Results | Ref |
1985 | Best Casting for TV, Comedy Episodic | Eileen Mack Knight | Nominated | [4] |
1986 | Gilda Stratton | Won | [5] | |
1987 | Harriet B. Helberg | Nominated | [6] | |
Creative Arts Emmy Awards | ||||
Year | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref |
1984 | Outstanding Costumes in a Series ("Welcome Back, Mam") | Barbara Murphy | Nominated | [7] |
Outstanding Lighting for a Series ("Bull's Baby") | John Appleroth | Nominated | ||
1985 | Outstanding Light for a Series ("Billie's Valentine") | John Appleroth | Nominated | |
Outstanding Light for a Series ("Bull Gets a Kid") | Mark Buxbaum | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Videotape Editing for a Series ("The Blizzard") | Jerry Davis | Nominated | ||
1986 | Outstanding Costumes in a Series ("Halloween, Too") | Dan Frank, Molly Harris Campbell | Nominated | |
Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Series ("Hurricane") | Jerry Davis | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Lighting for a Series ("Leon We Hardly Knew Ye") | George Spiro Dibie | Nominated | ||
1987 | Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Series ("Her Honor – Part 1") | Jerry Davis | Won | |
Outstanding Costumes in a Series ("A Day in the Life") | Dan Frank, Molly Harris Campbell | Nominated | ||
1988 | Outstanding Lighting in a Comedy Series ("Constitution – Part 2") | George Spiro Dibie | Nominated | |
1989 | Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special ("The Last Temptation of Mac") | Klaus Landsberg | Won | |
Outstanding Technical Direction/Camera/Video for a Series ("Yet Another Day in the Life") | Robert G. Holmes | Won | ||
Outstanding Lighting for a Comedy Series ("Danny Got His Gun – Part 3") | Robert Berry | Nominated | ||
1990 | Outstanding Technical Direction/Camera/Video for a Series ("Come Back To the Five and Dime, Stephen King") | Robert G. Holmes | Nominated | |
1991 | Outstanding Lighting for a Comedy Series ("Hey Harry", "F' Cryin' Out Loud", "It's A Wonderful Like..Sorta") | Charles L. Barbee | Nominated | |
1992 | Outstanding Lighting for a Comedy Series ("A Guy Named Phantom – Part 1") | Charles L. Barbee | Nominated | |
Outstanding Technical Direction/Camera/Video for a Series ("A Guy Named Phantom – Part 2") | Robert G. Holmes | Nominated | ||
Golden Globe Awards | ||||
Year | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref |
1985 | Best Supporting Actress — Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Selma Diamond | Nominated | [8] |
1988 | Best Supporting Actor — Series, Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television | John Larroquette | Nominated | |
Online Film & Television Association | ||||
Year | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref |
2013 | Television Programs — Hall of Fame | Night Court | Won | [9] |
Primetime Emmy Awards | ||||
Year | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref |
1984 | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Paula Kelly | Nominated | [7] |
1985 | Outstanding Comedy Series | Night Court | Nominated | |
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series | Harry Anderson | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series ("Dan's Parents or Married Alive") | John Larroquette | Won | ||
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Selma Diamond | Nominated | ||
1986 | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series | Harry Anderson | Nominated | |
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series ("Best of Friends") | John Larroquette | Won | ||
1987 | Outstanding Comedy Series | Night Court | Nominated | |
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series | Harry Anderson | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series ("Dan's Operation") | John Larroquette | Won | ||
1988 | Outstanding Comedy Series | Night Court | Nominated | |
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series ("No Hard Feelings") | John Larroquette | Won | ||
Television Critics Association | ||||
Year | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref |
1985 | Outstanding Achievement in Comedy | Night Court | Nominated | |
Writers Guild of America | ||||
Year | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref |
1985 | Episodic Comedy ("Once in Love with Harry") | Reinhold Weege | Nominated | [10] |
1987 | Episodic Comedy ("Best of Friends") | Howard Ostroff | Nominated | [11] |
1988 | Episodic Comedy ("Contempt of Courting") | Tom Straw | Nominated | [12] |
1989 | Episodic Comedy ("No Hard Feelings") | Tom Straw | Nominated | [13] |
This section needs additional citations for verification .(January 2023) |
After its primary run in broadcast syndication, the series aired on A&E Network for many years. It then aired on TV Land from 2005 to 2008, then began airing on Encore Classic on December 2, 2013. From 2016 to 2021, the show aired on Laff. [14]
Network Ten first broadcast the series in the 1980s and 1990s. 7TWO began showing reruns in June 2011.[ citation needed ]
Aired weekdays on both Comedy Gold and JoyTV.[ citation needed ]
Sat.1 aired the series as Harry's wundersames Strafgericht (Harry's Miraculous Criminal Court) in 1988.[ citation needed ]
Italia 1 aired the show as Giudice di notte (Night Judge) from 1986 until 1988.[ citation needed ]
TVE aired the show as Juzgado de Guardia (Court on Duty/Call).[ citation needed ]
The show screened weekly on TVNZ 1 in the 1980s and 1990s, and was rerun in the late 1990s.[ citation needed ]
Warner Home Video released the first three seasons on DVD in Region 1. Seasons 4–9 were released as Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) DVDs as part of the Warner Archive Collection. [15]
DVD Name | Ep. # | Release Date |
---|---|---|
The Complete First Season [16] | 13 | February 8, 2005 |
The Complete Second Season [17] | 22 | February 3, 2009 |
The Complete Third Season [18] | 22 | February 23, 2010 |
The Complete Fourth Season [19] | 22 | March 1, 2011 (Amazon.com) September 1, 2011 (WBShop.com) |
The Complete Fifth Season [20] | 22 | October 25, 2011 |
The Complete Sixth Season [21] | 22 | June 26, 2012 |
The Complete Seventh Season [22] | 22 | November 6, 2012 |
The Complete Eighth Season [23] | 24 | January 29, 2013 |
The Complete Ninth Season [24] | 22 | June 11, 2013 |
Special releases
DVD Name | Release Date | Ep. # |
---|---|---|
Television Favorites | February 28, 2006 | 6 |
The Television Favorites compilation DVD included the pilot episode, "All You Need Is Love"; both parts of the fourth-season finale, "Her Honor"; the fifth-season episodes "Death of a Bailiff" and "Who Was That Mashed Man?"; and the sixth-season episode "Fire", which marked the beginning of Harry's relationship with Christine.
Harry Anderson, Markie Post, and Charles Robinson appeared in the 30 Rock episode, "The One with the Cast of Night Court". John Larroquette is also mentioned; Harry says he had just spoken to John, which annoys Markie (who has not had recent contact with her absent former co-star) and begins an argument between them that lasts for most of the story.
In December 2020, NBC announced it was working on a sequel series to Night Court. The show will be executive produced by Melissa Rauch and Winston Rauch, with Dan Rubin to write. Larroquette is set to return as Fielding, while the show's central character will be Abby Stone, a judge and the daughter of Harry Stone. The show is expected to be produced by Warner Bros. Television for NBC. [25] In April 2021, it was reported that Rauch will also lead the series as Abby Stone. [26] In May 2021, it was announced that NBC had given a pilot order to a sequel series. [27] In June 2021, Ana Villafañe joined the cast for the pilot, portraying an Assistant District Attorney and Lacretta will play a bailiff Donna "Gurgs" Gurganous. [28] [29] In July 2021, Kapil Talwalkar joined the cast for the pilot, will play a court's clerk Neil. [30] In September 2021, it was announced that NBC had given the production a series order. [31]
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