‘Night Court’: Dan Meets Christine Sullivan’s Sister in ‘Very Sentimental’ Finale Sneak Peek (VIDEO)
Weddings bring everyone together. John Larroquette says fans of the original Night Court are in for a “sentimental” ride in the reboot’s Season 2 finale, airing Tuesday, March 26 on NBC. Indeed, in the TV Insider exclusive clip above, the Night Court reboot addresses original main character Christine Sullivan for the first time, as Dan meets Christine’s sister at Roz’s (Marsha Warfield) wedding.
Christine was played by the late Markie Post (who died in 2021) in the original Night Court, joining the cast in Season 2 and remaining until the series finale. Christine and Judge Harry Stone (the late Harry Anderson, who died in 2018) were teased as a romantic pair for a long time, and Christine confessed her love for Harry as she said her goodbyes to everyone at the courthouse after she was elected to Congress. Dan left to pursue Christine, but neither Harry nor Dan were revealed to have ended up with her when the Night Court reboot debuted in 2023.
Now, Larroquette’s The John Larroquette Show co-star Gigi Rice guest stars in the Night Court Season 2 finale as Christine’s sister, Katie, and Dan can’t believe who he’s meeting. The clip starts with Larroquette and Rice at the wedding bar. Katie orders a platter full of “Rozés” for her “unmarried aunts table” and Dan tells Roz that Katie seemed oddly familiar after this flirtatious introduction.
“She should! You argued against her sister in this courthouse for the better part of a decade,” Roz replies. Abby (Melissa Rauch) looks just as surprised to be seeing a Sullivan, whom she no doubt heard stories about from her dearly departed father.
Larroquette tells TV Insider that this meeting at Roz’s wedding makes for a “very sentimental” episode, and Rauch says “it’s going to be a very special season finale” for all fans of this longstanding comedy. “I think it’s incredibly special and I’m really excited for people to see it,” Rauch adds.
Wendie Malick has guest starred in Seasons 1 and 2 as both a rival and potential love interest for Dan. But could the widowed lawyer connect with his former flame’s sibling? Larroquette says the finale gets “very romantic for other reasons as well, besides just Marsha’s character” getting hitched to fiancée Loretta (Indira G. Wilson), and notes that Christine’s sister will have “an impact” on Dan.
Larroquette has enjoyed the “touches” of original characters incorporated into Rauch’s reincarnation. Abby is Harry’s chipper daughter (her mother, Gina, was played by Faith Ford in Season 1), Lacretta‘s Gurgs is partly inspired by Warfield’s bailiff, and even beloved original recurring characters like the Wheelers (Brent Spiner and Annie O’Donnell) have come back in Season 2. Larroquette is pleased that Christine is finally getting an homage.
“Marsha and I are the only two surviving members of the original series, and even Marsha came in the third season. So of the original original, I am the only one left standing,” he shares. And what he’s always loved about Dan is still in this new iteration. Larroquette loves that Dan’s “not the most comfortable human being in the world and he reluctantly participates in humanity. And occasionally because of people that touch him, like Abby Stone, he realizes he does have a heart.”
Rauch “pinches” herself every day getting to create a new Night Court. “Being in a scene with [Larroquette and Warfield in the finale], if I went back and told the kid version of myself that that was happening, I would be trying to fast-forward my life just to get to this moment,” she says. Two seasons in, she feels they’ve struck the right balance of nostalgic reverence and originality, and she’s touched by fans who feel an emotional connection to their reboot.
“Something that I think has been really special that’s come out of this that I really wasn’t expecting was people who’ve watched the first season and said that they were really big fans of the original, and they watched that show with a loved one who’s not here anymore,” Rauch shares. “So when they get to watch this show, it makes them feel like they’re watching it with that person, sort of like a little time machine back to that time. That was not something that I expected, but a definite wonderful outcome that made my heart so happy to hear.”
Check out this special edition of Night Court when Season 2 comes to a close on Tuesday, March 26.
Night Court, Season 2 Finale, Tuesday, March 26, 8/7c, NBC
