All rise: NBC's 'Night Court' is back in session

Though she was a major fan of "Night Court" in her youth, little did Melissa Rauch know what a big role she would play in bringing it back.

The "Big Bang Theory" alum is a star and (with her husband, Winston) an executive producer of the sitcom that returns to NBC in a revival premiering at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17. Rauch plays Abby Stone, who follows the path of her father Harry (the late Harry Anderson's character) as the judge in a nighttime New York courtroom. A very significant returnee is John Larroquette as prosecutor turned defense attorney Dan Fielding, the part for which the actor won four consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards.

"I was excited about producing 'Night Court,' and I really thought I would just be behind the camera on it," the lively Rauch says. "Then, as we were developing it and once John came on board and the scripts came together, l thought, 'I'd be such a dummy not to play this role!' I feel grateful that I ended up making that decision. I know I would have been kicking myself."

The chance to act opposite Larroquette was a huge incentive for Rauch to appear in "Night Court," too.

"It is a true dream come true to be working with him," she states. "Watching how he brilliantly executes every line that's given to him, he's never not wonderful. He's a master class in acting."

Rauch has a mutual admirer in Larroquette, who passed on returning to "Night Court" until she decided to act in it. He explains that mirrors Dan Fielding's return to court:

"He's not a part of that system any longer, so he would not have even approached the idea, except that this woman is Judge Harry Stone's daughter. He finds that touching, and he decides that he can't leave her alone in that place at 3 in the morning. She's going to need backup, so he decides to join her. Reluctantly."

Among other new "Night Court" regulars, the single-named Lacretta succeeds Richard Moll's Bull as the court bailiff, with India de Beaufort as an assistant district attorney and Kapil Talwalkar as the court clerk. While aiming to generate something fresh, Rauch also wants to pay sufficient homage to the original "Night Court."

So does Larroquette, who admits to thinking often of such late former co-stars as Anderson, Markie Post and Charles Robinson while making the update. He recalls it being "very emotional the first week that we did this, because I would 'see' them sitting at the table."

Larroquette notes that he suggested the rehirings of the original script supervisor, "so I could look at them occasionally and go, 'Do you remember when ... ?'"