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Night Court welcomed another incredible guest star to set for its wildly successful debut season! After a hilarious appearance from figure skating icons Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir, the NBC reboot showcased the talents of Kurt Fuller, the veteran actor from films like Ghosbusters 2 and Wayne’s World. In an EXCLUSIVE interview with HollywoodLife, Kurt opened up about his recent Night Court stint, including his takeaway of the hit comedy and how its humor has evolved since its original run in the 80s and 90s.
“You get the skeeviest, lowest of the low in that courtroom, so Night Court is really a comment on the edges of society,” Kurt began. “In this Night Court time, they slip in some commentary about the human condition now in 2023. It’s there, and if you want to be aware of it, you can. And if you don’t, you don’t have to, because it’s first a comedy. But it has a little more texture than just a comedy.”
“There’s real humanity there,” he continued. “And John Larroquette is bringing so much humanity to his Dan Fielding character that he didn’t do in the first one. That to me is the biggest, the biggest takeaway.”
Speaking of Larroquette, who defined the OG Night Court with his Emmy-winning take on attorney Fielding, the actor has had Kurt as a major fan for quite some time. “I worshiped him from afar for many many years,” Kurt said with a laugh.
Kurt then recalled how he had previously missed his chance to tell Larroquette of his fandom when the two actors were working on shows with sets next to each other a few years ago. “And I knew he was over there and I was dying to go over there and watch him, but I just didn’t have the guts. I didn’t want to interrupt,” Kurt explained to HollywoodLife. “I really wanted to just tell him how good I thought he was.”
He finally got the chance when he landed the guest role of Jeff the District Attorney on the Night Court reboot… and Larroquette’s response sounded very Larroquette. “So that was the first thing I did when I saw him,” Kurt said of approaching Larroquette on set of Night Court. “And he was like, ‘Oh yeah, well thanks,’… cause you can’t tell him anything he hasn’t already heard cause he’s a brilliant actor!”
On his two episodes of Night Court — one beginning to stream on April 4 and the other on May 9 for the finale! — the “Evil” alum plays Jeff the D.A., an old acquaintance of Fielding and just the man Judge Abby Stone (Melissa Rauch) would like to chat with about judicial reform. All three, with a few other courtroom characters by their side, end up at the an exclusive club in Manhattan where secrets and hilarity are revealed.
As for his costar Melissa, Kurt had just as lovely things to say about her as he did John, telling HL that the Big Bang Theory alum knows exactly how to play up the humanity aspect of the show. “Melissa has so much innate goodness… that when she does something that’s ‘not good’ on the show, it’s like a huge thing. And I just think that dynamic is very different than the original one. And even on its own a reason to do [the reboot].”
The experience filming Night Court clearly sounded like a positive one for Kurt, as he revealed he’s ready for another court case! “I would love it. I would love to come back every once in a while as a foil,” he said, adding with a laugh, “Yeah, I hope they run out of the ideas very quickly.”
Make sure to catch Kurt’s hilarious Night Court episodes when the show airs on Tuesdays at 8pm ET/PT on NBC or when it streams on Peacock.
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