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The spring 2025 TV schedule is winding down on network television, and NBC set the stage for Night Court to end on a big finale. With two back-to-back episodes culminating in the latest Big Bang Theory reunion for leading lady Melissa Rauch , fans may be getting nervous about the sitcom not yet being renewed for a fourth season. In the first episode of finale night on May 6 (and streaming next day with a Peacock subscription ), however, none other than Michael Urie appears as a quirky judge in New York City who may just be Abby's match.
The Shrinking alum is fresh off of a winning a Critics Choice Award for the Apple TV+ series, and as it turns out, coming to Night Court meant working on the same set as a childhood hero: John Larroquette. Urie arrives on the NBC sitcom to play Judge Toby Nulman, who might be more fun than Abby herself. When I spoke with the guest star, he shared that he immediately wanted the job as soon as it was described to him as playing "the funnest judge in New York.
" With how quickly he was hooked by Night Court just based on a quick description of his character, did actually coming to the set and working on the sitcom live up to his high hopes? I asked the Shrinking fan favorite that very question, and he shared that it "absolutely" did, and he'd actually grown up watching the original Night Court , which ran from 1984-1992. Urie went on: I was a kid, and [my parents] let me stay up late and I just loved it. It's so funny, because it's a show about criminals, ultimately, and not just criminals, but weird nighttime criminals in New York.
But as a kid, I thought it was so funny, and I loved it. I think there was something about it's zany and weird. It's a little off-center.
But then also, every episode has heart. There's always a little moment where you're touched. And I think that as a kid, I understood that.
I understood that even though they weren't real, the characters didn't seem real, but there was something human about them. Not many actors are likely to have Michael Urie's good luck of a favorite childhood show being rebooted decades later with available guest star slots! There are admittedly a lot of differences between the original show that wrapped in 1992 and the revival that premiered in 2023, but one element remained the same: John Larroquette as Dan Fielding. After hearing the actor's enthusiasm about the original run of the show and recalling Larroquette's recent comments about "When in doubt, hire a guest star," I had to ask: what was it like for him to work with the Emmy-winner on Night Court ? John Larroquette is a hero of mine, and certainly when I was a kid was someone that I looked to as hilarious, unique, surprising.
I don't have any scenes with him, unfortunately, on Night Court, but I got to watch him rehearse all week, and he has the ability to surprise you every time he opens his mouth. He did then, and he still has it. I was always a fan.
He was sort of a hero of mine, and I would go see his other work. So, even after Night Court, I watched the John Larroquette Show. Even though Dan Fielding and the Funnest Judge in New York don't share scenes in the appropriately titled "Funnest Judge in the City" episode on May 6, they were working on the same set together at the same time.
Considering John Larroquette's thoughts about Season 4 and how Michael Urie confirmed that he'd be up to return if he got the call, maybe there will be another chance? Urie went on to describe how he followed Larroquette's career even after the original Night Court : I would watch any show he popped up on. And movies! He's got this crazy movie that he made with Kirstie Alley called Mad House that I loved as a kid, that was just basically a big, messy comedy where they broke everything and trashed a house. So it was really cool getting to work with him.
Believe it or not, Michael Urie and John Larroquette's paths did cross years before Night Court , so Urie's experiences with the actor weren't all limited to watching his classic film and television work. As it turns out, they worked on the same stage production..
. just at slightly different times during its run. Urie explained: CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News We also crossed paths on Broadway.
He was in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and I came in after him. He was replaced by Beau Bridges and I replaced Christopher Hanke, so we didn't do it together, but I think of him as my step uncle, because I played his nephew after he left. But I got to go watch him do it! And he was brilliant.
He won the Tony Award. He was totally brilliant in it. So it was very cool getting to be around him and watch him work.
While the actors weren't in the same production of the musical at the same time, there was a bit of overlap! Still, Michael Urie raved about actually getting to see Larroquette in action on the Night Court turf in particular, so I can't help but root for his judge to return. Abby might not be so eager if he has a reputation for being more fun than her, but what would that courthouse be without some zany shenanigans? The guest star only had good things to say about the reboot as well as the original, praising its "silliness and wackiness," with storylines that "tug at your heartstrings" in each episode. Check out Michael Urie in the penultimate episode of Night Court Season 3 on Tuesday, May 6 at 8 p.
m. ET, taking the former time slot of St. Denis Medical after that sitcom's finale last week.
The official third season finale airs directly after, in Night Court 's usual 8:30 p.m. ET slot.
You can also stream earlier episodes of the season via Peacock as the wait commences for word of whether John Larroquette and Co. will be back for Season 4..
