Night Court

Night Court
Created by	Reinhold Weege
Starring	Harry Anderson John Larroquette Richard Moll Selma Diamond Florence Halop Charles Robinson Markie Post Marsha Warfield Ellen Foley
Opening theme	Jack Elliott
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	9
No. of episodes	193 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	24 minutes (Seasons 1-8) 23 minutes (Season 9)
Production company(s)	Starry Night Productions (1984–1989) Warner Bros. Television
Distributor	Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	January 4, 1984 – May 31, 1992

Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984, to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan municipal court, Criminal Court Part 2, presided over by a young, unorthodox judge, Harold T. "Harry" Stone (played by Harry Anderson). The series was created by comedy writer Reinhold Weege, who had previously worked on Barney Miller in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Night Court, according to the first season DVD, was created without comedian/magician Harry Anderson in mind; but Anderson auditioned with the claim that he was Harry Stone. Anderson had developed a following with his performances on Saturday Night Live and made several successful appearances as con man "Harry the Hat" on another NBC sitcom, Cheers. (For the first several years of its run, Night Court aired on NBC Thursday nights after Cheers, which had moved to the time slot before Night Court to accommodate the new series, which started as a mid-season replacement in January 1984.) In later seasons, while Anderson remained the key figure, John Larroquette became a popular personality winning a number of awards and many fans for his performance as the lecherous Dan Fielding.

The comedy style of Night Court changed as the series progressed. During its initial seasons, the show was often compared to Barney Miller. In addition to being created by a writer of that show, Night Court (like Barney Miller) was set in a tired, rundown part of New York City, featured a quirky and dry comedy style, and dealt with a staff who tried to cope with a parade of eccentric, often neurotic criminals and complainants. Furthering this comparison, these characters were routinely played by character actors who had made frequent guest appearances on Barney Miller, including Stanley Brock, Philip Sterling, Peggy Pope, and Alex Henteloff. But, while the characters appearing in the courtroom (and the nature of their transgressions) were often whimsical, bizarre or humorously inept, the show initially took place in the "real world". In an early review of the show, Time magazine called Night Court, with its emphasis on non-glamorous, non-violent petty crime, the most realistic law show on the air.

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