Night Court Star On How Abby’s Addiction Struggles Help Her As A Judge

Night Court star Melissa Rauch discusses how her character’s past with addiction helps her as a judge. Rauch leads the revival of the 1980s sitcom, portraying Judge Abby Stone — the late daughter of Harry Stone from the original series. In the first few episodes, Abby’s cheery outlooks contrasts with and annoys Dan Fielding (John Larroquette). But as the season has progressed, it’s slowly been revealed that Abby’s persistent optimism just as easily conceals a lot of anger and uncertainty that she is mindful to keep from bubbling up to the surface.

In an interview with Salon, Rauch particularly discusses how Abby’s experience as a recovering alcoholic helps to inform the decisions she makes in the courtroom. The former Big Bang Theory star, who is also an executive producer on the Night Court reboot, talks about how Abby’s optimism doesn’t stem from naivety but actually begins from a place of darkness. Check out Rauch’s quote below:

“In talking about who we wanted Abby to be, I love the fact that she’s this eternal optimist. I love that she’s adopted her father’s philosophy in the courtroom, that she judges people based on who they are, not their crimes, and she really wants to get to know them. I loved all that groundwork that we laid for her in the pilot.

“I thought Dan Rubin, our executive producer and showrunner, who was really one of the reasons why I agreed to play this role in the first place because I loved his brilliant pilot script so much – when we were talking about where we wanted Abby to go, I think it was important to all of us that she wasn’t an optimist because she’s naive or she hasn’t experienced life in any way.

“I didn’t want the optimism to come from this Pollyanna place of we can make the world better and I want to see the best in people. I think it’s coming from a place of darkness. It’s coming from a place of she’s been through some stuff. She’s been through it. She’s in recovery. She’s faced the dark roads of addiction, and she’s learned that the alternative, the darkness isn’t for her. She’s actively choosing the light on a daily basis because she has no other choice.

“I’m excited about the layer that adds to her, because I think it informs everything. When someone is on the stand and she’s trying to figure out what’s the best path for them, that’s informing everything. That second chance on life is informing how she weighs in on every case, even though no one knows that. And then there’s also the part that she lost so much time.

“When you talk about addiction and what that does, they often say that whatever time your addiction started, you can freeze at that age until you get in recovery and you lose that chunk of time. And then when you add to that the grief of losing her father and she knows that this span of time with him was lost, and she doesn’t get a chance now to make that up.

“That’s a part of her coming back to “Night Court” is to connect with him and to make him proud, as she says in that monologue, that he had faith in her that she didn’t have in herself, and he was holding it for her until she had it again. This is a tribute to that. I think really when she speaks about her father with such reverence, I think it’s because of that belief that he had in her. […]

“I think you sometimes have to have been through darkness to understand darkness. When these people are coming before her, it’s not just talk of her saying, “I want to give them a second chance, and I want to figure out what’s underneath all this.” Because I think she’s often been judged by the surface and seeing like, “Oh OK, she’s this young girl with big hopes and dreams,” but there’s more to her than that. I think she wants to make sure that everyone who comes before her is given that same opportunity.

Related: Night Court Was Based On A True Story

Why Abby Is The Best New Night Court Character

Though it debuted to very solid ratings, the Night Court revival has so far been met with mixed reviews. But, even as part of those split assessments, there is a general agreement of the fact that Rauch and Larroquette are the best part of the sitcom update. Larroquette is a pro, of course, to the point where he had to withdraw himself from the Emmys because he kept winning for the original Night Court. Rauch, a veteran of television comedies in her own right, is just as good, even if the material doesn’t match her level.

One exception to the spotty material is Night Court episode 5. The main thrust of the half-hour is that Dan helps Abby let go of her optimism, which can at times be forced and unhealthy. It was arguably the first real indication that there was more to Abby than her big smiles and eagerness to look on the bright side, and it worked because of the easy chemistry of the two leads.

India de Beaufort, Lacretta, and Kapil Talwalkar, who make up the rest of the Night Court reboot’s cast, haven’t had quite the same level of investment just yet. But with season 2 already confirmed by NBC, the good news is they’ll likely have their chance. Most sitcoms take time to gel and find their groove, and the same is true of its characters. But, at least so far, Abby is an early standout.

More: Night Court Reboot Cast & Character Guide

Source: Salon