Wendie Malick teases how Julianne becomes the new prosecutor on Night Court

Night Court has a new prosecutor, but fans are baffled by how Wendie Malick’s Julianne Walters went from con to lawyer! Just how is this happening? Here's what we know!

The comedy has been a great success for NBC since debuting in early 2023. It’s a sequel series to the 1984-1992 series starring the late Harry Anderson as Harry Stone, the judge of a Manhattan courthouse that sees a parade of bizarre figures dropping in. Among the biggest stars was John Larroquette, who won four Emmys for his turn as womanizing prosecutor Dan Fielding.

The new show has Melissa Rauch as Abby, Harry’s daughter, following in his footsteps as a judge. Dan is also back, now the public defender and sharing his wisdom to help Abby. During the first two season he would clash in the courtroom with Olivia (India de Beaufort).

De Beaufort revealed she was leaving the series and her replacement is a bit of a surprise as Wendie Malick will be a series regular as Julianne Walters. The character appeared in season 1 as a lawyer who had a date with Dan but turned out to be out for revenge for him putting her in prison 30 years earlier. She dropped her vendetta when she saw how pathetic Dan’s life was.

Julianne returned in season 2 as she and Dan (both in costumes) hit it off before she was arrested for her habit of setting fire to her ex-boyfriends' homes. Seeing her back in season 3 should be fun but it also leads to a key question: How does a former convict known for pyromania land a job as a courthouse prosecutor? Luckily, Malick herself has the answer

How is Julianne coming back to Night Court?

TVLine was among the many asking the question of how any courthouse would employ Julianne. Malick addressed the plot development at NBC’s summer press tour with some good humor. 

"The magic of television! 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. 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…I’m not going to be able to stay on my meds forever."

So it’s an odd turn, but there's some logic there as it’s just like Abby to give Julianne a second chance. Dan, of course, is going to be thrown by this as, despite sharing some chemistry, he knows what a nutcase Julianne can be. There’s the question of just how long she can stay on this job, especially given how strange the courthouse can get.

However, adding Malick, a veteran of TV comedy, to Night Court and seeing her with Dan should be a delight and make season 3 of the hit show even better for fans. 

Night Court season 3 premieres Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 8:30/7:30c.