Night Court kicked off the second season with an early Big Bang Theory reunion, followed by an original series star reprising their role, with Marsha Warfield returning as Roz. Now, NBC's sitcom is poised to deliver both a reunion and a return in one episode, as Night Court is bringing back Brent Spiner and Annie O'Donnell as the cursed Wheelers, with Big Bang Theory alum Kate Micucci along for the ride as a new Wheeler. Micucci spoke with CinemaBlend about working with Melissa Rauch again and what to expect from the Wheelers!
The Wheelers arrive in Abby Stone's court room on Tuesday, March 12 in the episode called "Wheelers of Fortune," with Brent Spiner and Annie O'Donnell reprising roles for the 2024 TV schedule that previously hadn't been seen since 1987. Kate Micucci joins to play Carol Ann Wheeler, who isn't shaping up to be any less bizarre than her parents were on the original series. Big Bang Theory fans may be more likely to recognize Micucci as Lucy, a love interest of Raj's, played by Kunal Nayyar... who also appeared in Night Court Season 2.
When I spoke with the actress, she opened up about what it was like to work with Melissa Rauch as a former Big Bang star on this very different sitcom, and she shared that Rauch channeled some serious emotion for the episode:
It was so much fun. Melissa is just one of the most fun, wonderful people to be around. Whenever we get together, we talk like a hundred miles an hour and just have the best time. I'm so thrilled for her that she's been able to make this show happen and to watch her wear all of the hats and then also act in [it]. She's just so funny. And in this episode, she has a lot of really heartfelt, beautiful moments that actually made a lot of us cry watching the scenes. She's kind of one of those people that can do it all. I'm not only a friend, but a huge fan of hers. It was just honestly a joy to watch her in her element, making sure everything goes well. And then also just kill it on tape night. I was so happy to just be a part of that episode.
While Melissa Rauch starred on The Big Bang Theory, she also works as an executive producer on Night Court. In fact, she originally only planned on working as an EP before signing on to play Abby Stone. Kate Micucci only had good things to say about working with her friend on Night Court, including a promise of some "heartfelt, beautiful moments" that could be quite tear-jerking in the March 12 episode.
Of course, unless Bob and June Wheeler have drastically changed between 1987 and 2024, Abby herself may be more likely to cry tears of frustration than anything else. Seriously bad luck brought the Wheelers to Night Court across six episodes of the original run of the series, and it seems safe to say that their fortunes haven't entirely turned around in the decades since.
Kate Micucci reflected on her reaction to learning that she'd get to work opposite Brent Spiner and Annie O'Donnell themselves:
I was so thrilled. I immediately went and watched all of the Wheelers that I could find on the internet, basically. And I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I get to be a part of this family. This is going to be a blast.' And they're just two of the nicest people. Immediately, we hit it off and they were very welcoming. I'd say 'Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad.' [laughs] I called them Mom and Dad during the week, and it was just a real treat. Not only that, but the characters they've created are so out there and weird. To get to take that and have my own take on it too was really so much fun. I think that pretty quickly we found it, as far as the mix of of the accents and how we all work together. It was pretty seamless, and I felt like it gelled quickly. So yeah, it was a blast.
As just a kid at the time, Kate Micucci wasn't watching the run of the first Night Court back in the '80s, but she also shared that watching the new version of the show motivated her to check out the original. To play Carol Ann Wheeler, that involved watching the Wheeler episodes in particular! (You can also find the original Night Court streaming via Amazon's Freevee.)
But is it possible for the new Night Court to add a new Wheeler who is as "out there and weird" as Bob and June from back in the day? According to Kate Micucci, Carol Ann qualifies. As she said:
Oh, yeah, that is definitely safe to say! [laughs] I mean, there's nothing more fun than playing weird, and I get to be weird in this one. And I think that Carol Ann is maybe a little bit faster than her parents. A little bit faster talking, but I think that maybe makes sense for the kid of these two oddballs. They just created a third oddball.
Abby Stone is no stranger to oddballs by this point in Night Court, and Dan Fielding – played by John Larroquette as the only original series star to join the revival as a series regular – is no stranger to the Wheelers. All things considered, it sounds like fans of both the original and the revival are in for a treat with the arrival of the extended Wheeler family.
So, be sure to tune in to NBC on Tuesday, March 12 at 8 p.m. ET for the "Wheelers of Fortune" episode of Night Court, followed by Extended Family with Scrubs alum Donald Faison at 8:30 p.m. ET. You can also revisit any Night Court episodes you might have missed so far streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription.
