Night Court: The Judge’s Boyfriend’s Dad

This is New York, so the idea of recruiting prosecutors out of prison is not so far-fetched for Alvin Bragg. They say our courts have a revolving door. That has been especially true for the Night Court franchise. Everyone remembers Markie Post from the original series, but they went through two prior public defenders before she took over the role. Losing a prosecutor should be nothing out of the ordinary for the reboot-continuation series. However, curmudgeonly public defender Dan Fielding will be a little freaked out by his new rival. As a possible consolation, he might discover a new son he never knew he had in “The Judge’s Boyfriend’s Dad, Part 1 & 2,” the two-part season premiere of showrunner Dan Rubin’s Night Court, airing tomorrow and next Tuesday on NBC.

A lot has changed since the first season. In addition to the new prosecutor, Judge Abby Stone also has a new clerk and a new boyfriend. In most respects, they are all trade-ups. India de Beaufort got a lot of laughs as Olivia, the self-absorbed, uber-aggressive ADA. However, her replacement is Wendie Malick, who played Fielding’s former stalker-tormentor Julianne Walters. Yes, she was sent to prison in a previous episode. Welcome to New York City.

Nyambi Nyambi also mines more humor from the clerk’s position than his predecessor. Plus, recuring Gary Anthony Williams often feels like a throwback to the old school Night Court (which is a good thing), as Flobert, a former judge who often subs in the various Night Court positions (which have had several vacancies) and just generally like to hang out and kvetch. He is going to have plenty of gossip, because Judge Abby suspects her boyfriend Jake might be Fielding’s secret illegitimate son, for reasons she explains in the eccentric opening prologue to “Part 1.”

True to form, the naïve do-gooding Stone agonizes over how to broach her supposition with both men. On the other hand, Flobert and Gurgs the bailiff offer plenty of suggestions for invasive DNA tests, which Stone will eventually go along with, for her own personal reasons.

Of course, the best scenes of this two-parter focus on Walters’ cat-and-mouse sparring with Fielding. She has the edge this series needs, since it has gone out of its way to tame Fielding. Walters also outmaneuvers Gurgs as well, when they clash over smoking on the fire-escape, which is solidly relatable workplace material.

Hyper-sensitivity will be the death of the sitcom genre, but the new shows like St. Denis Medical and Animal Control are not giving up without a fight. Frankly, it is still unclear whether Rubin and his fellow writers intend to join the battle or surrender, but at least their writing for Malick shows some signs of life.

Indeed, Malick is well on her way to being the real star of the series. Although Fielding’s sleaziness has been watered down to a general pompousness, John Larroquette retains a knack for mining the humor from his character’s excesses. However, Big Bang’s Melissa Rauch still largely serves as the straight-person, setting up the jokes and serving as the butt of punchlines.

Still, the elevation of Malick’s Walters to a regular character is zeitgeisty in ways Rubin and company never considered, but will resonate deeply with New Yorkers. Apparently, only an ex-con will actually prosecute criminals, but she would know what they are really like. Recommended as an amusing diversion, especially for fans of Malick and Larroquette, the two-part “The Judge’s Boyfriend’s Dad” airs Tuesdays (11/19 & 11/26) on NBC (and streams the next day on Peacock).