Julia Duffy & Ryan Hansen Return in ‘Night Court’ Season 3 Premiere Photos

Kelli Boyle October 18, 2024, 6:20 pm

Julia Duffy as Susan, Melissa Rauch as Abby Stone in 'Night Court' Season 3 Episode 1 — Nicole Weingart / NBC

Order in the courtroom! Night Court returns for Season 3 on Tuesday, November 19, and with it comes Wendie Malick as a new series regular in the quirky sitcom. Photos from the Night Court Season 3 premiere show Malick’s Julianne Walters getting cozy in Judge Abby Stone’s (Melissa Rauch) office, and accompanying the women are John Larroquette‘s Dan Fielding and Ryan Hansen in his returning guest star role as Jake, the HR rep with whom Abby shared a kiss in Season 2.

The photos also reveal that Julia Duffy will return as Susan in the first episode, reprising her role from the Season 2 finale (she was one of the many guest stars at Roz’s courtroom wedding). Duffy and Rauch are pictured above. In the image, Abby is visiting Susan in a hospital room, flowers in hand. Below, Malick is looking mischievous in Abby’s office and Dan looks none too pleased.

Night Court Season 3 Episode is titled “The Judge’s Boyfriend’s Dad.” Could that title, plus the photos of Abby standing close with former fling Jake, mean that they’ve officially become a couple in the new episodes?

John Larroquette as Dan Fielding, Wendie Malick as Julianne Walters, Ryan Hansen as Jake, Melissa Rauch as Abby Stone in 'Night Court' Season 3 Episode 1

Nicole Weingart / NBC

The Night Court reboot stars Rauch as the Manhattan night court judge, a position her father — Night Court OG Judge Harry Stone (played by the late Harry Anderson) — once held. She convinced Dan to return as a defense lawyer in her courtroom after the death of his wife, and Malick’s Julianne has recurred as a spicy love interest for Dan since Season 2. Now, Malick has been bumped up to series regular for the third season, and she’ll be an adversary for Abby and Dan as the replacement prosecutor for India de Beaufort‘s Olivia (de Beaufort won’t be back this season).

“They both must contend with Julianne Walters (Wendie Malick), a reformed convict and former love interest of Dan, who is the new prosecutor,” the Season 3 description reads. “A sophisticated, savvy woman and accomplished attorney who also knows how to make a shank out of a spoon, she’ll keep everyone in the courthouse on their toes.”

Lacretta returns as the lovable and sharp-witted bailiff, Donna “Gurgs” Gurganous, a woman who takes her job very seriously and is fiercely protective of her night court colleagues. Nyambi Nyambi will also be back as Wyatt Shaw, the court’s clerk. He’s a jack of all trades and devoted single dad trying to make it all work as a law student at the same time.

Both versions of Night Court adopted a revolving door policy for its guest stars, which means that any guest appearances from any episode could always come back again (unless, of course, the character was killed off, but that hasn’t happened in the reboot so far). That means series OG Marsha Warfield, Melissa Fumero, Kunal Nayyar, Rhys Darby, Richard Kind, Faith Ford, and more could all be back in future episodes. For now, see the stars of Night Court in the new photos from Season 3.