How Night Court Season 3's Musical Episode Reignited Richard Kind's Passion For Sitcoms (2025)

Richard Kind returns to Night Court in this week's episode, "A Little Night Court Music." Previously seen in season 2's "Broadway Danny Gurgs," Kind plays Sy Hoffman, a hilariously unscrupulous Broadway musical producer who sees the memoirs of Dan Fielding (John Larroquette) as ripe for adaptation to a big-budget stage musical. Naturally, things do not go smoothly, resulting in a series of mishaps that culminate in a showstopping musical sequence.

One of the ultimate character actors, Richard Kind, is best known for the hit sitcom, Spin City. He most recently appeared in several episodes of Hulu's Only Murders In The Building, and fans may also know him as Mayor Aubrey James in the Batman prequel TV series, Gotham. Kind remains a prolific and beloved actor with hundreds of onscreen appearances, and his Night Court character is quickly joining the ranks of his most iconic roles.

ScreenRant interviews Richard Kind about playing an over-the-top Broadway producer on Night Court, as well as the series' heightened sensibilities. He talks about his philosophy towards acting and how he compares and contrasts with two of his most well-known co-stars, Carol Burnett and Michael J. Fox. Finally, he teases a bit of what audiences can expect from his new TV project, Everybody's Live with John Mulaney, a chaotic and clever take on the traditional talk show format.

Richard Kind On The Live Theater Sensibilities Of Night Court

"I Consider Sy To Be The Sitcom Version Of Max Bialystock"

ScreenRant: Who would have thought that Night Court would be back and so recognizably Night Court?

Richard Kind: I know! It's just wild and funny and silly and stupid and hilarious! The episodes exist just to be funny. I don't think they try and tell any message, they just are silly.

Tell me about the atmosphere of getting to be as fully unhinged as you want. Sy Hoffman doesn't even need to have any lines, and he's making me laugh. You have such a presence as that character.

Richard Kind: Oh, well, that's nice! In recent years, I've been doing a lot of single-camera work as opposed to sitcoms, or the 'four-camera audience' shows. I don't think I'm as good at sitcoms, as I used to be. But then you get something like Night Court. They're unhinged! You just get to "go."

I'd always like to think I'm grounded in reality, and Night Court—it's not grounded in reality. It's just silly! It takes a realistic situation and makes it unrealistic. It's so funny! In the episode, a Broadway producer comes in, and then they put on a Broadway show? It's dumb! But funny! So why not take it to the limit? And that's what my character does.

TV has gotten so filmic lately, even though nothing is shot on film these days, but it must be nice to be able to just go big and go broad and just be theatrical.

Richard Kind: I did The Producers on Broadway. I consider this character, Sy, to be sort of like the sitcom version of Max Bialystock. And that is a theater. I did The Producers where you have to reach 1,400 seats, so you've got to be big and that's what this was.

Do you get that kind of energy, at least partly, from having the live audience on set?

Richard Kind: Absolutely. The reason I love doing sitcoms, still, is because... I've worked with Carol Burnett and Mike Michael J. Fox. And I found there was a huge difference between the two of them, which is very subtle, but very important. Michael J. Fox needs the audience for his rhythm, for his energy, but he plays to the camera. Carol Burnett plays to the audience and hopes that the camera captures it.

Would you say that your style skews more towards the latter?

Richard Kind: Yes, very much so, yes. I would be a much more famous actor if I could bring it down and be smaller. I'd be a much better actor, too! But Michael is good. Carol could do that in movies, sometimes. There was a famous TV movie that she did that was not funny. It was drama, but her métier is the big characters. That's what she does best.

Night Court Has A Timeless Appeal

"They Were So Good Because They Were Outlandish, But Grounded In Reality"

Were you a fan of classic Night Court back in the day?

Richard Kind: Yeah, sure, everybody was! It was great! I loved Harry Anderson, and Markie Post became a friend. And John Larroquette and Don Knotts were the huge, Emmy-winning stars. They would just win Emmy after Emmy after Emmy playing their characters. They were so good, because they were outlandish, but grounded in reality. They knew what to do. They were masters at it.

I didn't get into Night Court until long after it was over, because I was born in 1991, but it's so timeless.

Richard Kind: Well, Night Courts still exist. And the genre that Reinhold Weege created, of just being outlandish, that's what real life Night Court brings in. There are outlandish criminals. Even though the TV show ended, the location of a Night Court in an urban setting still exists. It's a great platform.

The idea of the show is that everyone is welcome.

Richard Kind: What it is is, they're character-driven. These characters come in, they happen to have done something, but more importantly, these characters are outrageous.

The Cross-Section Of Broadway & Night Court Grows Ever Larger

"John Larroquette Does Not Suffer Fools"

Would you say that Sy is similar to the Broadway producers you've worked with? Or is he just the amalgam of the idea of a Broadway producer through the Night Court filter?

Richard Kind: He's described as a "shady producer." And I think that's redundant.

Would you be open to returning? This is your second appearance.

Richard Kind: I'd beg them. I'd beg them to bring me back. I'd love it. I wish I had a twin brother who could become a regular, so I wouldn't have to play the producer!

This episode has a show-stopping musical sequence. Were you on the set while they were shooting that?

Richard Kind: Not all of it. It took a good afternoon to do it, and I wasn't in it. But I certainly saw when they did the master shot, and they had the back of our heads. So I saw it then, and then I saw it on tape night. I saw the finished product.

I saw John Larroquette many years ago in How To Succeed in Business.

Richard Kind: Was he great? He's lovely, though. John is loooovely! He's a great guy. He's funny, he's acerbic, he's smart. He's really a good man. If you ever see a movie called Choose Me, he's quite wonderful in it. I encourage you to see it. Choose Me, by director by Alan Rudolph.

Richard Kind's Movie & TV Recommendations

"I'm Also Going To Be Doing John Mulaney's New Talk Show"

You've had such an incredible career over the decades. Is there a project you're particularly proud of that you felt didn't get the attention it deserved? Something you want to shout out to the ScreenRant readers?

Richard Kind: Well, I do a lot of plays, so there are plays that I really enjoyed doing. I think the show, Red Oaks is very, very good, and I think it should have had a longer run. It's a wonderful, wonderful show. It's on Amazon. The movie, A Serious Man, is loved by a lot of people, but not everybody saw it. I'm also going to be doing John Mulaney's new talk show, Everybody's Live, the Netflix talk show. Did you see the first one? It was called Everybody's in LA.

I sure did!

Richard Kind: Now we're doing twelve of them, every Wednesday from March 12 until the end of May. And the guests are ridiculous, John is fantastic. Our first show we have Michael Keaton and Joan Baez and Fred Armisen. And it's live, all over the world.

More About Night Court Season 3

Abby Stone Follows In The Footsteps Of Her Revered Late Father

In her quest to bring order and dignity to the court and reign in its colorful crew of oddballs, Abby enlists former night court district attorney Dan Fielding (John Larroquette) to serve as the court’s public defender. Still exceedingly self-confident, Fielding must adjust to a new boss and a new job – defending the downtrodden. And, beneath his arrogant demeanor, there is an empathetic side to Fielding that Abby is determined to unearth.

Check out our other Night Court season 3 interviews here:

• Betsy Sodaro
• Wendie Malick
• Lacretta
• Andy Daly (season 3, episode 4)
• Joe Lo Truglio (season 3, episode 4)
• Giles Marini (season 3, episode 6)
• Eden Sher (season 3, episode 9)
• Nico Santos (season 3, episode 9)
• Mo Collins (season 3, episode 11)

Night Court season 3 airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Success!

Your Rating

10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

Night Court

TV-PG

Comedy

12 7.6/10

Release Date

January 17, 2023

Night Court is a 2023 series following optimistic judge Abby Stone, daughter of the late Harry Stone, as she oversees the night shift of a Manhattan arraignment court, navigating a group of quirky and skeptical colleagues, including former prosecutor Dan Fielding.

Network

NBC

Cast

Melissa Rauch, John Larroquette, India de Beaufort, Kapil Talwalkar, Lacretta, Nyambi Nyambi, Carlos Antonio, Emily Berry, Angela Giarratana, Dimiter D. Marinov, Jeremy Rabb, Tony Robinette, Adelina Saldana, Brett Schaberg, Reece Schaberg, Ana Villafane, Johnny Weir, Tara Lipinski, David Douglas, Sean Owens, Sara A. Emami, Jaime Moyer, A.J. Tannen, Antonio Raul Garcia, Cosette Hauer

Showrunner

Dan Rubin

Directors

Pamela Fryman, Anthony Joseph Rich, Leonard R. Garner, Jr., Mark Cendrowski

Writers

Lon Zimmet, Mathew Harawitz, Azie Dungey

Main Genre

Comedy

Creator(s)

Reinhold Weege

Character(s)

Abby Stone, Dan Fielding, Olivia Moore, Neil, Donna 'Gurgs' Gurganous, Wyatt, Frank Bernard, Package Delivery Lady, Nora, Nikolai, Bennett, Pervert, Linda - Dan's Associate, Grant, Brant, Uncredited, Johnny Weir, Tara Lipinski, Delivery Guy, Subway Announcer, Leanne, Linda, Zack, Carlos, Claire

Producers

John Larroquette, Melissa Rauch, Winston Rauch

Seasons

3

Story By

dan rubin

Streaming Service(s)

Peacock

Powered by

Expand Collapse