After three seasons, NBC has pulled the plug on Night Court. According to Deadline, the network has cancelled the sitcom reboot, seemingly due to declining ratings. NBC is in the process of reconfiguring its television schedule as it gears up to broadcast NBA games beginning this fall. As a result, Night Court found itself on the bubble, as viewership had gone down significantly over the course of its run. Deadline notes that there was “a late push” to get Night Court renewed for a shortened fourth and final season, but that obviously was unsuccessful.
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While Night Court‘s time at NBC is over, this might not be the end for the show altogether. Deadline says “there is a possibility” Night Court could find a new home if Warner Bros. Television decides to shop it around to interested suitors, but right now there’s no indication Night Court will get picked up by another network.
A continuation of the ’80s sitcom of the same name, Night Court premiered in 2023. It starred The Big Bang Theory‘s Melissa Rauch as Abby Stone, who served as the judge for Manhattan Criminal Court’s night shift. Original Night Court star John Larroquette reprised his role as Dan Fielding on the revival.
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When Night Court debuted in January 2023, it got off to a strong start, as the first episode tallied 7.55 million viewers. But the show lost its audience as it went on; only 1.63 million viewers tuned in for what ended up being the series finale that aired earlier this month.
Given the viewership figures, it isn’t a shock Night Court was cancelled. Though it seems the sitcom had some supporters at NBC, there wasn’t enough of a movement to bring it back. If Night Court had a larger audience, then it likely would have been safe for at least another year. But with the low ratings, it would have been tough to justify putting resources into a continuation. Still, it’s a shame the Night Court creative team didn’t get the opportunity to end the series on their terms. It would have been nice to see that shortened fourth season so the sitcom could have received a proper send off.
The prospect of Night Court being revived at a new home isn’t far-fetched. That’s happened before in the past; after NBC cancelled Community, Yahoo! Screen picked it up. Brooklyn Nine-Nine started its run at Fox before moving to NBC. It’ll be interesting to see if a different network or streaming service saves Night Court. It wasn’t a major hit (if it was, NBC would have renewed it), but Night Court still has its fan base and could settle into a niche on streaming if the right platform emerges.
Will you miss watching the Night Court revival? Are you hopeful it will get picked up by another network? Let us know in the comments!
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