I'd spoken with John Larroquette during NBC's Night Court Season 3 press junket about the Season 2 finale, in which Dan encountered Christine's sister Katie (Gigi Rice) and finally confessed how deeply he'd felt for Markie Post's character and why he seemingly skipped her funeral. With references to the original series relatively few and far between other than mention's of Abby's dad (played by the late Harry Anderson) and Marsha Warfield reprising her role as Roz, seeing the revival dedicate a full finale storyline to Christine Sullivan and Markie Post packed an emotional punch back in the spring.

When I had the chance, I asked John Larroquette - who is an executive producer as well as star of Night Court - about how involved he was in the storyline and how it came together, and he shared:

Night Court's NBC revival in 2023 wasn't designed to pick up where the original left off, but rather reboot a new era with an almost entirely new cast of characters. So, the nods to the original haven't been too frequent, although Melissa Rauch has shared that fans of the original often attend tapings. The new show hasn't been a sequel to tie off any loose ends; the Season 2 finale's storyline about Christine Sullivan did just that, in a very sweet way. Larroquette went on:

Larroquette has been candid over the years about seeing "ghosts" while filming Night Court because so many of his former castmates have passed away, so the Season 2 storyline really feels all the more impactful to me in knowing that the actor was so involved in making the tribute happen. He went on to share that there were even more connections than fans could have known when last season's finale first aired, saying:

I would say that all the work to making the storyline a tribute in good taste paid off, because Dan's emotional words about Christine Sullivan provided some of the best dramatic moments in what is otherwise a pretty silly show. The reveal that he did go to Christine's funeral but didn't feel that he could attend openly was a standout moment of the finale on the whole. It's also very sweet to know that Larroquette involved Markie Post's widower in the conversations.

If you, like me, want to rewatch the Season 2 finale now, you can find it streaming on Peacock. If you'd also like to check out the original series that starred John Larroquette, Markie Post, Harry Anderson, Marsha Warfield and more, you can find the first version of Night Court streaming with an Amazon Prime Video subscription. As for the revival, the winter premiere will air on Tuesday, January 14 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.