The verdict is in! Melissa Rauch is not guilty of suffering from “the Seinfeld Curse” (if you believe in such things). She wrapped her part as Bernadette on The Big Bang Theory in 2019 and has followed it up nicely with a brand-new role – Judge Abby Stone on the revival of Night Court, now in its second season on NBC (and streaming the next day on Peacock).
Rauch is joined on the series by her husband, Winston Rauch, her fellow executive producer on the sitcom made famous by the late Harry Anderson (Judge Harry Stone). TV Insider caught up with Winston for a one-on-one interview when a gaggle of TV critics and reporters were invited to visit the famous Warner Bros. Studios lot earlier this month. Winston chatted about why he took his wife’s surname when they wed, why a few familiar faces are returning to the show later this season, and whether or not there are plans to do more nods to the OG version of Night Court, which ran from 1984 to 1992.
You may not get this question often but do you know if Melissa is related to late soap opera legendary Paul Rauch (One Life to Live, Another World, Guiding Light)?
Winston Rauch: No. I don’t know, but I love meeting people who share her last name.
You took Melissa’s surname as your own when you were married in 2009. How did that come to be?
Honestly, it had to mostly with the fact that she was already very well-established with her name being a part of Big Bang. [Wryly] And, of course, it felt very unfair for our [then] future kids to have to choose between two different last names. I thought [taking Rauch] feels right.
Brent Spiner (Data, Star Trek: The Next Generation) and Annie O’Donnell (Not Dead Yet) are coming back to Night Court to reprise their role as the Wheelers, which they played in the OG version. Did you have fun going through other 1980s Night Court episodes to see who else went on to become famous and who might be lured back for a guest spot?
I remember seeing a young Michael J. Fox, who just had one of the best guest star turns of any younger actor that you could possibly see. This was [after] he was cast on Family Ties [as Alex P. Keaton]. There have been so many guest starts who came out of the original series — too many to mention. But one we’re very excited about is Brent Spiner and Annie O’Donnell, playing the Wheelers. When Brent was on the show the first time, he wasn’t really “Brent Spiner!” yet. That’s the fun part, [saying to ourselves], “This person became so popular and recognizable. Wouldn’t it be great to bring them back?”
We very much listen to people’s response to the show from reading comments online, on X [formerly, Twitter], and on other [social] platforms. We really want to be accommodating the desires of the show’s fans. One of the greatest circulated ideas was bringing the Wheelers back. Of course, it’s something we wanted to do. We didn’t know that Brent would be open to it. He’s had this meteoric career. We’re thrilled that he’s coming back, and Annie, too. She’s incredible.
So many of the show’s original cast are gone now, but how did it come about that you brought Marsha Warfield back as Roz?
Marsha has this incredible, easy, instant rapport with Lacretta [who plays Donna ‘Gurgs’ Gurganous] that’s like nothing you’ve ever seen. Her being back just fits like a glove. They are wonderful together. We got to experience [Marsha] coming back for the first time for our finale at the end of Season 1. It was the most inspiring moments; our audience had gone through Covid and had been in isolation and then they got to see one of their favorite TV stars come back. They didn’t know [Marsha] was going to be there. It was one of those standing ovations you hear about at Cannes that lasts, like, 10 minutes. It felt like that.
Can you tease what Marsha will be doing in the Season 2 finale?
Well, I don’t want to give away any spoilers. But I will say that she’s coming back for a special step in her relationship…and we’ll see what that is.
Abby Stone appears to be the calm in the storm while Bernadette Rostenkowski, Melissa’s Big Bang Theory character, was a bit zanier. How else are they different?
I was just so excited for her to do this role because Abby is closer to Melissa’s own voice, her own persona, to a certain degree — not that part about her coming from Schenectady and starting a life in a small town… that’s not the part I’m talking about. It’s the part where Melissa is a witty, smart, charming, funny sort of person, who’s in control of so many aspects of her life. She has to be super-organized here because she’s running the ship here.
Night Court is on both NBC and, the next day, on Peacock. Thoughts?
We’re honored to be a part of the lineup that airs live on NBC because NBC has such a storied tradition, and we’re equally excited to be on Peacock because appointment television is harder to come by, right? People don’t necessarily always have the time to sit down and watch it when it airs live. So we’re glad they have the chance to watch it the next day.
EvansVestalWard/WBTVG
Abby, of course, honors her dad, Harry (Harry Anderson). John Larroquette has brought Dan Fielding back. Marsha’s returning. Are there ways to honor the characters/late cast members Markie Post (Christine), Richard Moll (Bull), Charles Robinson (Mac), Selma Diamond (Selma), and Florence Halop (Flo)?
We’ve certainly circled back [with] ways to honor all the nostalgic ties to the original iteration of the show in a way that feels properly reverential without [being inauthentic]. It’s got to fit in the story we’re telling.
Night Court, Tuesdays, 8/7c, NBC
This story originally appeared on TV Insider
