Original Night Court Fans Are Unimpressed With The Reboot So Far

No show or movie is safe from the reboot treatment. If something was even moderately popular back in the day, there's a good chance a studio will try to snatch up the rights to bring it back to life in the 21st century. We've seen this happen time and time again, and 2023 kicked off with a reboot few likely saw coming — "Night Court."

The original "Night Court" ran from 1984 to 1992, which saw a variety of cases go up in front of an inexperienced judge, often to humorous effect. To kick off 2023, NBC has revived the property, but this time, Melissa Rauch of "The Big Bang Theory" fame is playing the judge (and the daughter of the original series' main protagonist). The show also gets a leg up for bringing back original cast member John Larroquette. 

The series premiered its first two episodes on January 17, receiving a pretty lukewarm reception from critics. Amy Amatangelo of Paste Magazine wrote, "This Night Court is guilty of not being funny or entertaining. And unlike Abby, I can't find an optimistic spin." So far, the show's also had a hard time pleasing general audiences, as people have been all too willing to take to social media to express their disappointment. 

It's not unusual for new TV shows to require a few episodes or even an entire season to find its footing. But even with a certain amount of grace, it's clear from social media that many fans just weren't happy with this redone "Night Court." On the show's subreddit, users were asked their thoughts on the first episodes, and the consensus was that it was a vast step down from the original. Redditor u/anjinash wrote, "It was..... not good. Very flat. Heavily reliant on the canned laugh track, which comes off super cringe-y when a joke doesn't land. Most of the characters aren't characters, rather caricatures: This is the dumb one, this is the stuck up one, this is the practical joker guy and here's the curmudgeon with the heart of gold."

Things didn't fare much better on Twitter, where plenty of people checked out the first two episodes only to walk away feeling dismayed, like @jessenovels, who wrote, "Verdict: Massive failure n execution of the writing team n creators. Convinced AI Bots wrote the comedy and actors were told to act bad. Cancelled." @CrockerBoy summed up their reaction in one word: "Oof."

It's always possible it was just lackluster opening episodes, and the remaining ones in the season will get better. But a lot of viewers may have already checked out, and for those who stick around, the show will face an uphill battle trying to win them over.

The "Night Court" reboot is a continuation of the original series that features plenty of callbacks to its predecessor. These include returning cast members and cameos from Clarence, the stuffed armadillo that was ever-present throughout the '80s series. Furthermore, the O.G. judge, Harry T. Stone (the late Harry Anderson), is frequently mentioned by his daughter and Dan Fielding (John Larroqutte). Despite honoring the original show, however, the new "Night Court" has created some plot holes.

One fan noted that the reboot hasn't mentioned the alien abduction that took place in Season 9's "Opportunity Knock Knocks" episode. "The new Night Court hasn't addressed this yet. I've waited 30 years to find out how Bull Shannon is doing with the aliens," @mikeryan wrote. Of course, it's entirely possible that "Night Court" will address this storyline down the line, so curious viewers might have to be patient for the time being.

Elsewhere, some fans are confused about Harry having a daughter who's old enough to be a judge in the present day. "Harry Stone is 34 (the youngest judge in New York history) in the first season of Night Court. The last season of NC was 1992. Which would make her... 31 at the oldest," @HunterFelt wrote." The Twitter user noted that the math doesn't make sense, but they can overlook this error as the "Night Court" universe is a wacky place where God and extra-terrestrial lifeforms exist.