Night Court’s New Prosecutor Wendie Malick Answers Our Burning Q: Since When Is Her Character a Lawyer?!
We were overjoyed when we heard that Wendie Malick was joining the cast of NBC’s Night Court as a series regular next season… and we were also a little confused when we heard that her character Julianne would be the court’s new prosecutor.
Malick has guest-starred in two episodes of Night Court as Dan Fielding’s erratic ex Julianne Walters, but we remember her as a volatile criminal Dan once helped put away, with no mention of any previous legal experience. So how, exactly, is she qualified to be a prosecutor?
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“The magic of television!” Malick exclaimed while speaking to TVLine at NBC’s summer press tour. “No, the way we’re explaining it is: There was a program called Operation Second Chance, and the only judge that applied for it was Abby,” played by series star Melissa Rauch.
Malick adds that “if your record has been expunged, you can go back to whatever you did before, and apparently, I was a lawyer before I was sent to the slammer… So as long as I’m on my meds, I can practice law.” But, as she hints with a smile, “I’m not going to be able to stay on my meds forever.”
A TV comedy veteran known for her time on Just Shoot Me!, Dream On and Hot in Cleveland, Malick was added to the Night Court cast earlier this month, replacing India de Beaufort’s Olivia as the court’s prosecutor. Season 3 of Night Court premieres Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 8:30/7:30c, following new comedy St. Denis Medical. (Click here to get all of NBC’s fall premiere dates.)
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