How ‘Night Court’ Inspired Melissa Villaseñor to Write Her Own Sitcom
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Night Court Season 1 Episode 12, “When Abby Met Gabby.”]
Melissa Villaseñor loves being silly. To that end, appearing on NBC‘s Night Court reboot was a no-brainer. The Saturday Night Live alum played Gabby in the Tuesday, April 25 installment of the sitcom, and like much of Night Court‘s proceedings, the premise of the episode was silly in and of itself.
When court clerk Neil’s (Kapil Talwalkar) high school crush, Gabby, appeared at the Manhattan court to finalize her divorce, Abby (Melissa Rauch) and Olivia (India de Beaufort) saw this as the perfect opportunity to nip Neil’s crush on Abby in the bud.
As it turns out, Neil has a type. Abby and Gabby (a dentist) are two peas in a pod, their personalities exhibiting the same kind of quirk, goofiness, and positivity. Eventually, Abby feared that she and Gabby may have a little too much in common. Are Abby and fiancé Rand (Pete Holmes) heading for the same fate as Gabby and her ex-husband? That’s a question for future episodes to solve.
Here, Villaseñor shares her memories from the Night Court set to TV Insider, revealing that the reboot helped inspire her to write her own sitcom.
How did your guest star role come about, and how did you enjoy your time on the show?
Melissa Villaseñor: Oh my gosh, we taped it in July, so I don’t remember how it came up. I think it was an offer, and I was super excited. It was my first time meeting Melissa Rauch, and it was the best week. It was so much fun. Everyone was just so sweet, and I wasn’t used to such a, you know, nice schedule. [Laughs] That was the first time I’ve ever done multi-cam. I had a blast because I’ve been used to live audiences for a long time, so it was just so fun. It was great.
I’ve heard people say before in interviews that multi-cam is the best job in Hollywood, because the schedule is like a 9-to-5 office job kind of schedule.
Yeah, no, I was like, “are you sure we don’t have to film till 3 a.m.?” [Laughs] That’s what I’m used to. But it was really nice. It was really, really sweet and everyone was amazing to work with. I had a good time.
Given the live audience, did filming the episode feel at all similar to Saturday nights at SNL?
You know, waiting, pausing for laughter, and then going to the next line, I think just the energy, you could feel it more. It just adds, I don’t know, more excitement.
Elizabeth Morris/NBC/Warner Bros. Television
It seems like everyone on this show is having a great time.
That’s what I felt. I really did feel quite at home. I felt very good, very happy.
That’s good to hear. And in the episode, Abby and Gabby are made to be very similar characters. I thought it was funny that you and Melissa Rauch have the same name given that. Do you see any other similarities between you and Melissa after having worked with her?
I think [we’re] smiley people. She’s a smiley one. And I think there’s a little quirky awkwardness. [Laughs] We became good friends since then. I felt like there’s just been a warmth to her. Immediately I felt just so good to be working with her. She was just open to my ideas and so happy to have me, and it just felt really good.
Are there any fun anecdotes from filming you can share?
Hmm. I think there were cupcakes in a scene, and I definitely had a couple. [Laughs] When they were like, “OK, we’re done with them. I was like, I gotta grab some.” … It was also a tough week for me because my grandma passed the day before we filmed it. I was expecting it; it was any moment. But I do remember the kindness that Melissa had. She gave me flowers. It felt very comforting to be there, because like I said, everyone was so sweet, so it felt comfortable to be there. It was nice.
I’m so sorry to hear about your grandma.
Oh, thanks. It’s all good. But I think my brain was like, “Oh, that’s how I remember it?” [Laughs] But it truly was a great week.
I imagine that levity must have felt good.
Yeah, yeah. It was awesome.
So, this Night Court reboot is a hit among viewers. I’d love to know your take on the current sitcom reboot trend.
I think it just depends on which one, but I think Night Court gives a chance for a lot of characters and different people to come in and play fun parts for the court cases. I think that’s what’s really fun. [The original] was so loved, too. It’s cool to hear it having the same amount of love and a lot more coming back.
I miss it! I like sitcoms. I really do. I feel like I’ve been watching a lot lately, just going back to old-school ones because it just felt simple for the brain. I think some shows are getting so long and I’m exhausted and I’m like, “I’d like a good comedy, you know?” So, I think it’s great. I don’t want that art to be lost, so it’s nice to see.
Elizabeth Morris/NBC/Warner Bros. Television
What have you been watching recently?
I went back to [Everybody Loves] Raymond because I want to create my own sitcom, too. And since I’m a standup, I’m trying to use my story and everything. I’ve just been loving it. … I’ve been loving Abbott Elementary.
Was that something that you wanted to do before Night Court, or is that maybe inspired by it?
It’s something in the works. I don’t know if I should share too much detail, but yeah, I’m creating it and I got inspired after doing Night Court.
Would you be down for more Night Court in the future?
Oh, hell yeah! I would love it. I would immediately go back. I would love it.
You once said that your book, Whoops, I’m Awesome, is a book for an adult’s inner child. Did appearing on this show bring your inner child any glee?
Yeah! Making new friends and being goofy with funny people, that’s my favorite thing.
I think that my best stuff comes from that place where I turn things around and see it in a childlike, silly way, whether it’s standup or saying something funny. I think it’s an art. I can’t lose that! I think that’s the best stuff. It’s innocent.
Yeah. And when you do what your inner child wants you to do, you end up having the most fun because that’s what you liked in the beginning.
Right. And adults, we judge and avoid. But it’s like the little kid is like, “I just wanna play,” and we let it run free. It’s creative. That’s the creative juice.
You had a book come out last year, hosted an art show, you have original music, you’ve got your standup. I’d love to know what else is new for you moving forward?
I just did a Ted Talk, so that’ll come out hopefully in the next few months. I prepared for that for a bit. I want to tape this new hour of my standup, create my own show, and just keep creating things with friends.
I think now I’m at the point where I want to help other people with their dreams and just create goofy stuff with people, or challenge myself to new, different things, even if it is a dramedy, like just spread my wings a bit. I don’t want to keep repeating forever. I’m in piano, and I’m taking Spanish. I just want to keep expanding, because our brains, we could learn so much and do so much. So, I’m in a learning mood right now.
Night Court, Tuesdays, 8/7c, NBC
