The time has come for another season of Night Court. Season 3 will see the return of a familiar face, and this time for much longer. Wendie Malick has been upped to series regular after guest starring in two episodes across the first two seasons.
Yes, Julianne is back. Of course, that leads to a lot of questions about how that is possible. The last we saw of Julianne, we learned that she had some sort of revenge plot going on. She wanted to steal Dan’s identity and cause a lot of problems for him, but she ended up going to jail.
She was even deemed criminally insane. How can she possibly be back in Night Court season 3, especially as a series regular? Wendie Malick talked to us exclusively about her return and working on the set.
Wendie Malick discusses coming back to Night Court as a series regular
We started off finding out more about what it was like for Malick to come back to the series. It’s not often that someone who has a couple of guest stints gets to return as a series regular, especially not in a sitcom.
Malick explained that it was a “very pleasant surprise,” but she was curious about how they were going to pull it off considering who she was. Julianna was an ex-con who had tried to kill Dan. How could you have her return for a prolonged period of time in the series.
“Thanks to Abby Stone, who signed off on Operation Second Chance, she gave Juliette a chance to come back and practice law again, which apparently I had done before I was in the slammer.”
It’s great how actors don’t know a lot about their characters at first, and then they find out with storylines like this. Malick shared that she is still finding things out about Julianne.
“Every week, I get more and more little hints as to why I am the way I am and where I came from.”
What’s that like for actors, though? The characters would know where they came from and their backstories, but the actors don’t. That makes it harder to prep and plan out the way a character would react to something, and it has caused inconsistencies with other shows.
“You kind of jump on a moving train and hope that you find your bearings.”
The writers and showrunners are there to help, though. When the actors have questions about their characters and motivations, people will be there to step in and offer some sort of explanation. It helps to create the character and build the world, without giving too much away.
Teases about what’s to come with Julianne in Night Court season 3
Malick did offer some teases of what to expect in the upcoming season when it comes to her character Julianne. Remember that she was deemed criminally insane. This is important moving forward. Julianne needs to take her meds, and she doesn’t always remember to do so.
“If she isn’t taking her medication, she can go really off the tracks. So, any kind of inconstancy in her character actually works to my benefit.”
During the first episode, there is a comment about her needing to take her meds. Like so many others who have to take daily medications, Julianne doesn’t necessarily want to do that, so is there a chance that we’ll see her go off the tracks?
“I always love playing characters who are a little off. She been way off, and she’s very bright and can be charming. But, she’s not the most reliable character in the world, and there are reasons she is the way she is.”
We will get to learn more about this throughout the season. We’ll also get to see the “complicated dynamic” between Julianne and Dan once she is back in court, especially as she’s around a lot more and in a capacity that means Dan can’t get rid of her.
Check out the full interview with Wendie Malick below, and don’t forget to tune into the new season of Night Court!
Night Court premieres Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 8:30/7:30c on NBC. Catch up the following day on Peacock.
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