'You Can't Help But Fall In Love': Night Court Stars Open Up About Their Characters' Surprising Bond
Warning: spoilers ahead for Episode 3 of Night Court Season 2, called "Form Fetish."
Night Court is back in action in the 2024 TV season following the Christmas episode that reunited Melissa Rauch with a Big Bang Theory alum and the official Season 2 premiere that fully reunited John Larroquette with Marsha Warfield. In "Form Fetish," Olivia and Gurgs got a fun story of their own that involved City Hall budget cuts, a business opportunity, and way too much caffeine! It showcased the surprising bond between characters who don't have too much in common on the surface, and actors India de Beaufort and Lacretta opened up about that connection.
The two Night Court stars spoke with CinemaBlend and other outlets for NBC's press junket for Season 2, and they addressed what their characters bring out in each other as the prosecutor and the bailiff of the show. When asked about how they develop in Season 2, India de Beaufort previewed:
You can't help but fall in love with Gurgs, and Olivia is the same. [We're] getting to see that element of Olivia as a result of Gurgs' presence, and we kind of pick up where we left off to a degree and just sort of continue to go along that path of two women celebrating each other, which I think is a wonderful thing to do on national television.
It took the full first season for Olivia to admit that she sees Abby as a friend and not just a friendly colleague, but Gurgs brought out a fun side of the character much earlier last year. The events of "Form Fetish" proved that Night Court is sticking with that dynamic in Season 2, which is particularly fun in light of the departure of Season 1 series regular Kapil Talwalkar as Neil.
Lacretta, who previously told CinemaBlend about how the cast got to know each other behind the scenes, called back to Season 1 when she weighed in on what Olivia does for Gurgs:
Oh, gosh, I think Olivia grounds Gurgs in a way that she can be a bit flighty from time to time. But then we spent a lot of time bonding over cinema now.
As fans may remember from Season 1, Olivia and Gurgs began sharing an office, and Gurgs discovered that Olivia had somehow never seen Die Hard. In true Gurgs style, she ultimately told Olivia that she wanted to get to know her because she liked her, and Olivia excitedly asked if they were "work wives now." And what's not to love about that?! India de Beaufort went on to share what the showrunner told her about Olivia and Gurgs:
Dan [Rubin] said to me the other day, our showrunner, was like, 'The nice thing about the bond between Gurgs and Olivia is that the audience gets to see Olivia through Gurgs' perspective.' And we love Gurgs so much that anyone that Gurgs gives the stamp of approval to, you kind of go 'Oh, there must be something more to her!' She inevitably brings out the best in everyone, and so she brings out the softness in Olivia, which we otherwise don't really get to see.
Fortunately, with the end of the WGA writers strike and SAG-AFTRA actors strike, Night Court is able to salvage at least part of the 2023-2024 TV schedule. New episodes of the hit NBC comedy will continue airing on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET, ahead of the network's newest sitcom: Extended Family.
You can also revisit Gurgs and Olivia's earliest interactions streaming now with a Peacock Premium subscription. After Season 2 started strong with the return of Marsha Warfield (which Melissa Rauch was very excited about), it seems that there's a lot to look forward to.
