Is Richard Moll Coming Back for the 'Night Court' Reboot? — If He Doesn't, We Call Bull

Jennifer Tisdale - Author
By

PUBLISHED Jan. 24 2023, 8:39 p.m. ET

Marsha Warfield and Richard Moll
Source: YouTube/Warner Bros. (video still)

Marsha Warfield and Richard Moll on the original 'Night Court'

Court is never a good time, unless you're going to Night Court. For nine seasons —1984 until it the series finale in 1992 — NBC invited us into the comedic underbelly of the Manhattan Criminal Court system after dark. The cases tended to be a little more raunchy and a lot more hilarious than the day shift. From 5 p.m. until 1 a.m. almost anything could (and did happen!) at and on Night Court.

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In January 2023, Night Court returned with a few new cases, new faces, and at least one familiar face.

Dan Larroquette (Dan Fielding), along with the late Harry Anderson (Judge Harry Stone) and Richard Moll (Bull), were the only actors to appear in every single episode of the original series. But while Dan Larroquette returned for the revival, Richard Moll has not. What happened to our dear sweet Bull? No bull, we gotta know what's up.

Richard Moll
Source: YouTube/Warner Bros. (video still)

Richard Moll as Bull on the original 'Night Court'

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What happened to Bull from 'Night Court'? We miss Richard Moll.

Richard Moll perfected the enormously lovable and goofy Aristotle Nostradamus Shannon, aka Bull. What the character often lacked in common sense, he more than made up for in having his heart in the right place. Known for his equal parts sarcastic and begrudging catchphrase "Ooo-kay," Bull would express regret over something he did by slapping himself on the forehead. After nine years of delightful mistakes, it never got old.

Unfortunately, NBC confirmed that Richard would not be returning for the reboot of Night Court. "As of right now, Moll does not have any plans to revive his character on the new Night Court," the network said in a statement on their website.

While details surrounding his absence have not been revealed, we do know that he has kept himself pretty busy popping in and out of various TV shows.

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There are no gap years on Richard Moll's IMDb page and that is well-deserved. He seems to have gravitated towards one heck of a career as a voice actor, lending his baritone vocals to the likes of Superman: The Animates Series, Freakazoid!, Justice League, and much, much more. He's also had quite a run as the voice of Two-Face in both Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures.

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Who is the new Bull on the 'Night Court' reboot?

First of all, Richard Moll as Bull is irreplaceable. Secondly, NBC did manage to find an incredible addition to the new show. Actress and comedian Lacretta will be the new night bailiff whose job will be to somehow keep everyone in line. Honestly, we would tune in for her character's name alone: Donna “Gurgs” Gurganous.

In an interview with Theater Mania, Lacretta talked about stepping into the huge shoes of bailiff on Night Court. Before auditioning, Lacretta had to stop watching old episodes of Night Court so she wasn't accidentally mimicking anyone from the show.

"I wanted to stand in my own character because Gurgs is her own character and is not Marsha Warfield, and she's not Richard Moll," she said. "Once I booked it, then I was like, 'Oh yeah, now I can watch again.'"

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Lacretta
Source: NBC

Lacretta on 'Night Court'

She was also determined to make the role her own and not worry about standing in the shadows of Richard Moll or Marsha Warfield, the latter of whom played the Roz, the other bailiff.

"I didn't put a lot of pressure on myself to make sure that we were heralding the legacy of what came before us because I think it was just a given — it was there already. So, I'm just trying to protect my mental health and just ride the back end of it and be pleasantly surprised."

We think everyone will be more than pleasantly surprised by the revival!

Night Court airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, and will be available to stream the next day on Peacock.

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