[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for the Night Court Season 2 premiere.]
Roz Russell came back in new form in the Night Court Season 2 premiere. The series returned on Tuesday, January 2 on NBC, bringing with it the on-screen reunion between original Night Court stars John Larroquette (Dan Fielding) and Marsha Warfield (Roz) and updates on Roz’s life since the original series came to a close in 1992.
Night Court Season 2 Episode 1 begins where the Season 1 finale left off: in Dan’s new court in New Orleans, over which he presides as judge — his dream job. Last season, Roz was brought to Dan’s court for her behavior during her bachelorette party. In the premiere, Dan visits Roz in the group holding cell and they reconnect. Their conversation casually reveals that Roz is engaged to a woman, revealing that Roz is queer! Warfield came out as gay to the public in 2017. She tells TV Insider that the Night Court reboot creators decided to make Roz gay on their own and she was delighted by how they handled the storyline.
“I found out when I read the script,” Warfield shares, adding that the change was “fine with me.”
“I’m very grateful, and I have tremendous respect for the writers,” she continues. “I’ve always had that for the writers on Night Court. I’ve always felt safe that I didn’t have to worry that they were going to go off in some direction that I couldn’t accept.”
The reboot is not written by the original Night Court creators. When reading the script for her episode, Warfield says “it was gratifying” to see that she could trust this new team with her beloved character. “That was one thing that was comforting — that it was the same, that I could trust that they would take care of Roz,” she shares. “I was kind of impressed with the way they did it, if you want to know the truth.”
Warfield loves that “they went for it” with this Roz reveal. “They went for making Roz gay but didn’t make a big deal out of it. It was natural, and I thought that they handled it well.”
Nicole Weingart/NBC
After being released from Fielding’s court, Roz recruits Dan to help her investigate her fiancée, whom she fears is having an affair. It all turned out to be a misunderstanding, and Warfield is happy they didn’t “play [their relationship] as a joke” and give Roz “an unacceptable mate.” It would be a bummer to have her return and be immediately heartbroken.
Roz and Dan find themselves back in the Manhattan night court as part of their investigation. They stand before Abby Sone (Melissa Rauch) with prosecutor Olivia (India de Beaufort), and when Dan is ordered away from the bench, Roz slips back into bailiff mode and escorts him out of the room by the arm. “Old habits die hard,” Warfield says of that moment with a laugh. “That muscle memory comes back and you just find yourself. That just made perfect sense.”
Lacretta‘s Donna Gurgs, the reboot’s bailiff, fangirls over Roz in that moment, complimenting her technique. “She’s wonderful,” Warfield says of the actor. “People should enjoy her. I enjoyed working with her.”
Despite the fun she had while filming (the episode was filmed before the strikes began in 2023), returning to Night Court was “nerve-wracking” for the actor “because I took so much time off from performing and I haven’t done a whole lot of episodic TV since.” Off-screen, Warfield is a stand-up comedian. “I’ve done a bit” of scripted TV since Night Court ended “and I’m very grateful for it,” but coming back to this series was all about “still making sure I have my chops right and [making Roz] new again,” she admits.
“That aspect was a little daunting, but working with the crew and John and Melissa and Lacretta and everybody, that was wonderful. No problems whatsoever,” Warfield adds, joking that “it was like a warm bath with strangers.”
This appearance was always meant to be a one-episode thing, but Warfield would love to return again. “If they ask me, I’ll serve,” she says, adding, “The door’s never really closed, but I think we left it open enough to where it wouldn’t be strange if Roz did come back.”
Night Court, Tuesdays, 8/7c, NBC
