One of Only Two Remaining OG 'Night Court' Cast Members Returned for the Finale

The first Night Court season finale wrapped last night, and it saw Dan Fielding leave New York’s night court to take a job as a judge in Louisiana. The series has been building toward Fielding’s departure for a couple of episodes, and Fielding himself even admits in the finale that he was “feeling adrift” before he was offered the position of judge.

It’s unclear what this means for Larroquette and his character for season two. It’s possible the 75-year-old only returned to help relaunch the series before returning to semi-retirement, appearing in guest roles on TV series. In his only television interview to promote the series, he seemed happy to return. More likely, the series wanted to give Larroquette an out, just in case he decided not to return for the fall season. If he does return, I’m sure it will be fairly easy to write him back in (once the WGA strike ends).

We did, however, get a short glimpse of Dan Fielding in a judge’s robe in his Louisiana courtroom. The first case to come in front of him, however, involved an old frenemy. “Another fight at a bachelorette party in the French Quarter,” Fielding says in the episode’s final minute. “OK bailiff, bring in this bride-to-be!” The bride-to-be is Roz Russell, the bailiff played by Marsha Warfield in the original series.

“I didn’t have that on my bingo card,” Warfield told Variety. “But I was excited, an opportunity to work with John again and to get back on the set. It’s kinda like reliving old memories, while you make new ones. And that was very interesting. And it was kind of surreal, in a good way.”

Warfield has also been recurring on 9-1-1 over the last couple of years. Alas, she is only one of two original cast members that could return for a cameo. Aside from Richard Moll, Warfield is the only other living cast member. Harry Anderson passed away in 2018, and Markie Post and Charles Anderson both passed away in 2021. The bailiffs who preceded Roz on the original Night Court — Selma Diamond and Florence Halop — both died during the original show’s run.

Warfield also acknowledged their passing, as she told Variety. “Yeah, John [Larroquette] and I discussed that, had a moment, raised a toast with our water bottles and acknowledged that.”