Based on the 1984 sitcom, NBC’sNight Courtreboot follows Judge Abby Stone, who “follows in the footsteps of her revered late father.” The show is currently in its third season and has undergone several cast shake-ups since it premiered. While Melissa Rauch, Lacretta, and John Larroquette have remained series regulars, India de Beaufort and Kapil Talwalkar both departed the comedy.
Their characters were replaced by Nyambi Nyambi’s Wyatt and Wendie Malick’s Julianne, the latter having previously appeared as a guest star in season 1. The cast also includes Gary Anthony Williams (The Boondocks,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), who portrays Judge Flobert. Much to fans' delight, Williams has taken on a bigger role in recent seasons, providing deeper insight into his hilariously multi-talented character.
Night Court Clip Sees The Return Of The Wheelers (Again) & They’re Having A Clucking Hard Time
Exclusive: ScreenRant presents a clip from the next episode of Night Court season 3, which features the return of the unfortunate Wheeler family.
ScreenRantinterviews Gary Anthony Williams about Flobert’s multiple jobs,Night Courtseason 3’s celestial visitors, and working with John Larroquette.
“There is literally no telling what all Flobert has done and has the ability to do.”
ScreenRant: Are there any other jobs Flobert has that we don’t know about?
Gary Anthony Williams: Yes. The answer is yes. So far we’ve learned that he’s been a judge, he’s been a lawyer, he’s been a clerk. He’s been involved in some light hypnotism. He has sold real estate. I mentioned that I’ve done some rap battling in the past. There is literally no telling what all Flobert has done and has the ability to do.
He knows a guy for everything. There are a couple of episodes that were like, “But how are we going to do it?” Hey, don’t worry about that. Flobert has a guy. If I can’t do it, I know somebody who can do it. I never do anything well [laughs], but Flobert does a lot of things. He just likes to be involved.
I was going to ask what you think makes him such a master of all trades, but you’re right. He doesn’t always do things well per se, but he does do them.
Gary Anthony Williams: He does a lot. Sometimes he turns out pretty good at some things. He has that barbershop quartet that came on and they sounded amazing. He is an actor. He’s shown his headshot, and I’m sure he’s a horrible actor. I’m sure he is. He’s not great at any of them, but he tries hard, and he thinks he’s great at them.
“I think that was decided almost like a last-minute kind of thing.”
Could we see more of Flobert acting as a judge?
Gary Anthony Williams: The first time I was on was in season 1. He came in as a judge when Melissa’s character was stuck on a subway, and then after that, they didn’t need him in the courtroom as a judge anymore. So I would hope so. I love the false bravado of judges and lawyers, so I would love to go back on being a judge.
But at the same time, it is just such a joy to have a character that doesn’t really have any rules, who can just be anything and everything all the time. There’s nothing more fun than, “Oh, I can do that. I’ve got that skillset.”
There’s a question that I’ve had ever since the Christmas episode. Flobert is the only one who saw the angels. Did he tell anyone else about them? Did it blow his mind?
Gary Anthony Williams: Yes! I don’t think, originally, he was really going to see them. If I’m not mistaken, on shoot night, they decided, “Hey, you’re going to come back in and see what just happened—that they were angels.” I think that was decided almost like a last-minute kind of thing.
I don’t believe, I might be mistaken, that the original script had Flobert actually seeing them, but that is a prime example of the ridiculousness and greatness of that show, that you could go ahead and play that angel thing and then have this guy—I don’t think he ever told anybody. I think he kept it to himself in real life. And I think that’s what made the old show work, and I think that’s what is making the new show work.
The more we lean into it, and the writers are leaning into the ridiculousness of it, I think that’s the joy of the show. It’s definitely the joy for me, for my character, being able to seriously lean into how ridiculous everything is and just play it as though it’s real life.
The Night Court Cast Often Improvises During Rehearsals
“The writing is so good, you don’t need to. It’s just because we’re playing around. It’s family and fun.”
I loved the episode where Flobert and Dan help Gurgs prepare for her interview and end up in a screaming match. How was playing that with John Larroquette?
Gary Anthony Williams: Oh, so fun. I’ve known him since Boston Legal, so there was still comedy in that show, but it was definitely a more serious law show. So anytime we get to play together, it’s just a joy and there’s not going to be an episode where somebody’s not cracking the other person up. It is going to happen.
Once we get one in the can, or during rehearsals, he loves to just add something in that’s not in the script, which is my second favorite thing to do as well. So it’s fantastic to sit across from him and try to keep a straight face playing along with his reindeer games. That was a fun episode of us prepping her with our different styles.
On that same note, were there any lines that you improvised or anything you bring to Flobert that isn’t in the script?
Gary Anthony Williams: Oh, yeah. We throw stuff in all the time. Some shows have you stick directly to the script, but in rehearsal, we’ll play around all the time. And a lot of times, if we’re just playing around, and John will go, “Oh, that’s a funny one, they should keep that.” And then the script supervisor will be like, “Okay, I’ll suggest that to the writers.” And then they decide if they want to keep things or not.
On shoot night, we may shoot multiple endings of something. There was one shoot night where they just decided at the end of it, they were going to have me turn directly to the camera and say, “To be continued.” And so I was like, “Are they going to put that on air, or are they going to use the other one?” So yeah, there are a lot of things that we’ll just throw in during rehearsals that wind up being in the show. But in general, the writing is so good, you don’t need to. It’s just because we’re playing around. It’s family and fun.
We’re playing around, so sometimes we throw something in, it’s like, “Hey, that’s funny. You should keep that thing.” So there’s a lot. The writers are very brilliant, and then if they hear something or they’ll bring in a different joke while we’re shooting and go, “Hey, you like that line?” or “You could change it to something else if you want.” They’re very open to new ideas, but I love using their stuff because they’re always right on the mark.
More About Night Court Season 3
Abby Stone Follows In The Footsteps Of Her Revered Late Father
In her quest to bring order and dignity to the court and reign in its colorful crew of oddballs, Abby enlists former night court district attorney Dan Fielding (John Larroquette) to serve as the court’s public defender. Still exceedingly self-confident, Fielding must adjust to a new boss and a new job – defending the downtrodden. And, beneath his arrogant demeanor, there is an empathetic side to Fielding that Abby is determined to unearth.
Check out our otherNight Courtseason 3 interviews here:
Night Courtseason 3 airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
Night Court
Night Court is a 2023 series following optimistic judge Abby Stone, daughter of the late Harry Stone, as she oversees the night shift of a Manhattan arraignment court, navigating a group of quirky and skeptical colleagues, including former prosecutor Dan Fielding.
