Melissa Rauch, best known for her role as Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz in The Big Bang Theory, is back on screens with the lead role in Night Court. A revival of the classic ‘80s sitcom of the same name, Night Court is airing new episodes every Tuesday night on NBC. Rauch plays Abby Stone, the daughter of the late Harry Stone, who takes his old job as the judge on the night shift at the Manhattan Criminal Court. Like her father, Abby sees the defendants in her courtroom as human beings and is determined to hear them out, much to the chagrin of her overworked, sleep-deprived co-workers who just want to get through the night. It’s an old-school multi-camera sitcom about a dysfunctional workplace family. In the tradition of the flagship series, it strikes a poignant balance between broad humor and touching drama.
Rauch spoke to Game Rant about what drew her to Night Court, the benefits of a live studio audience, working with the great John Larroquette, and her hopes for a possible second season.
Game Rant: Of all the sitcoms you could reboot, what was it about Night Court specifically that appealed to you?
Melissa Rauch: I think what’s so cool about the foundation and the structure of Night Court is, you have this amazing story generator in the cases that come in and out of the courtroom doors. It’s this evergreen, endless opportunity to meet new characters and to have whatever cases come in launch us into the series and launch us into the story for the episode, so that was really exciting to me. And I just, I love a multi-camera sitcom that can combine really heightened, big, broad comedy and moments of heart, and that’s something that I think Night Court did so beautifully and so organically from the beginning of the show. The way it was structured was this really broad, almost absurdist at times, humor, and then these really poignant, important moments that sort of snuck up on you, and that always intrigued me. And I was excited to see if we can continue that in some way.
GR: I think this new show has struck that balance really well – I watched the first few episodes last night, I’m really enjoying it – where there’s obviously some big swings, comedically, and then also some heartfelt dramatic moments. I was wondering, you kind of recapture the Harry Stone spirit really well with Abby, where she’s someone who really cares surrounded by people who don’t care so much. I was wondering, how closely did you study Harry Anderson’s performance? Were you trying to emulate him in any way or just making Abby her own character?
Rauch: I really wanted Abby to be her own character while still having some of the essence of what Harry Stone was and what Harry Anderson so beautifully did. And I think our writers – led by our wonderful showrunner Dan Rubin – did such a wonderful job at capturing that spirit as well. And I truly believe if it’s not on the page, you can’t make any of that happen, and they’ve really done such a really extraordinary job with that. I wasn’t, by any means, trying to do an imitation, but I revisited a lot of the episodes and rewatched the seasons and the cadence was something that I sort of leaned into. Whenever I’m doing a character, I tend to get in there through the voice, which is why I did the voice that I did on Big Bang and, really, a lot of the other roles that I did, that’s sort of my entryway into a character. Knowing that I was going to speak in my normal register in this, it really became more about the rhythms and the cadence of how he spoke versus the tone. But yeah, it was definitely more of an essence thing versus imitation.
GR: I was wondering, because he passed away just a few years ago, had you ever met him? Had you met him or did you move onto this project after he’d passed away?
Rauch: Yeah, sadly, I never had the chance to meet him. I’ve always heard such incredible things about him, but we started developing this after he passed away, unfortunately, so I was never able to make that connection with him. But I’ve just heard that, as incredible a performer as he was, he was also an equally incredible human being, and I wish I’d had the opportunity to have met him.
GR: From the way he played Harry Stone, you could really picture him being a really sweet guy in real life.
Rauch: Yeah, it’s true. The way John talks about him with such love and admiration.
GR: Correct me if this is wrong, but I read you were originally just going to executive-produce the series, so I’m curious, where did the decision come from to also act in it?
Rauch: Yeah, I had just planned on producing it. Post-Big Bang, I wasn’t thinking – as much as I love the multi-camera sitcom – that it was gonna be my next move. And then, as we were developing it, I started thinking, ‘I’m really liking this part a lot,’ and when I read the final pilot script by our showrunner Dan Rubin, I just really fell in love with it, and I just thought he did such a wonderful job of striking that exact balance of humor and heart. And it was truly like, if I got this script and I wasn’t involved in it at all, I would be fighting to play that part, so that really was a really big deciding factor. And, of course, developing this with John Larroquette and becoming so fond of him throughout the process and realizing that another actress was gonna get a chance to do these beautifully written scenes with this legend of an actor. It felt like I was being a real idiot for not doing it. And I was very grateful, also, that NBC and Warner Bros. were very encouraging in me playing the role as well, and I’m so, so grateful that I did.
GR: It’s interesting that you mention working with John Larroquette, because one of the things I really enjoyed watching the series was that he’s becoming a bit of a father figure to Abby and their kind of bond is, like, the center of the series. So, I’m curious, where did that come from, that it would be – the relationship between Abby and Dan is the heart of the show?
Rauch: It was really about the story we wanted to tell and how we wanted to launch into the series, and although we’ve constructed these two characters, and Dan Rubin and the writers have done such a wonderful job with setting this up, they’re polar opposites. They couldn’t be more different. They couldn’t have a more different worldview. But then, what really connects them is this shared love and admiration and respect for her father. And I think that’s really what launches us into the series, and then also Abby is very much looking for her own workplace family. I think she’s heard about Harry, talking over the years about how this was his surrogate family, and at a time where she’s missing her father and trying to stand on her own two feet, creating that family for herself that she had heard so much about becomes paramount, and reaching out to Dan is a part of that. And then seeing, because she’s a helper and because she sees that this person who her father had such respect for is struggling and is a bit lost in his own life at this point, I think she realizes that he needs to be there as much as she wants him there and they both realize that they need each other.
GR: Right, yeah, like, he needs her as much as she needs him.
Rauch: Exactly, exactly.
GR: So, you’ve done... obviously, you were on The Big Bang Theory for years, and now this is another multi-cam series. What do you think is the benefit of filming in front of a live audience that you don’t get on a show where there is no audience?
Rauch: I love the format so much. In front of a live audience, there’s this electricity; there’s this instant feedback from the audience as if you’re doing a play. It’s sort of set up like a little mini focus group. You know instantly what’s gonna work, instantly what needs to be tweaked. The writers are there, listening to that laughter and figuring out what needs to be adjusted, if they can beat a joke and get a bigger laugh. And I think there’s something really special about it. It’s how TV was originally first constructed and there’s something really special about revisiting that format and having that instant reaction from the audience to play off of. And I come from a theater background. So, the first time that I had the opportunity to do a multi-cam sitcom in front of a live audience was Big Bang Theory and I fell in love with it instantly, ‘cause I had really just been doing single-camera shows up until that point and it was like, oh, this combines what I love about theater and what I had just fallen in love with about TV and it really feels like the best of both worlds.
GR: I’m being told I’m almost out of time, so I just wanted to quickly ask, just to finish, what are your hopes for season 2 if, God willing, you get a season 2?
Rauch: I think it would be to continue learning more about all the characters, find out more about everyone’s backstories. I’m excited for the characters to continue their bonds and figure out and just really have this workplace family continue to form together. Some of the scenes that I love most is just all of us together in the cafeteria, having fun together, and I’m just so excited to continue to work with this group.
Night Court airs new episodes on Tuesday nights at 8pm ET on NBC. Viewers can also catch Night Court on platforms like YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, and Sling.