Summary

• Night Court reboot fails to address Christine Sullivan's fate, leaving fans wondering.
• The reboot focuses on a new judge, the daughter of Harry Stone, and introduces a new character as Abby's mother.
• It's unlikely that Harry and Christine reconciled before the reboot, leaving the door open for closure in a future episode.

Warning: Contains Spoilers for the Night Court reboot.

With the return of Night Court in the form of an NBC reboot, the question of what happened to Christine Sullivan after the original series ended looms large. Played by the late Markie Post, Public Defender Christine Sullivan was introduced as a temporary addition to the court during Night Court season 2. Christine proved popular as a character and Post joined the cast as a series regular in Night Court season 3, remaining with the show until it came to a close after nine seasons.

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The final season of Night Court was infamously erratic, leaving fans hoping that the Night Court reboot would resolve some questions left open by the confusing series’ finale. Chief among these was the final fate of Christine Sullivan, who left the court after confessing her love for Judge Harry Stone (Harry Anderson) and being elected to Congress. Assistant District Attorney Dan Fielding (John Larroquette) likewise resigned, so that he could follow Christine in the hope of winning her heart.

Night Court Reboot Says Nothing About Christine Sullivan's Fate

Unfortunately, the Night Court reboot reveals nothing directly about what happened to Christine Sullivan. The new series centers around newbie judge Abby Stone (Melissa Rauch), as she is assigned to the same Manhattan criminal court her father presided over three decades earlier. The Night Court reboot does eventually reveal who Abby's mother is, and she's a new character, played by Faith Ford, not Markie Post's Christine as some expected. Dan Fielding is revealed to have been married to a woman named Sarah. While this does address Dan Fielding's quest for redemption for his womanizing ways, it does beg the question of what happened to the woman he quit his job to pursue.

Why It's Unlikely Christine Sullivan And Harry Stone Reconciled

When the Night Court reboot was announced as centering around Harry Stone's daughter, it seemed possible that the revival would reveal that Harry and Christine finally got married and settled down together. The two were teased as a romantic pairing repeatedly over the course of Night Court's final six seasons and Christine kissed Harry in the series finale, saying that she would miss him the most out of everyone she was leaving behind. This ending was also teased in the 30 Rock episode "The One with the Cast of Night Court," where the 30 Rock cast gave Night Court their own series finale that ended with Harry and Christine getting married.

However, it seems unlikely that Harry and Christine ever reconnected in the Night Court universe before the reboot. The pilot episode has Dan comment upon Harry Stone's passing when he meets Abby for the first time, but he says nothing about her mother, indicating he didn't really know her very well. In the original Night Court series finale, Dan decides to pursue Christine, leaving his job behind to follow her as she's been elected to Congress. It doesn't appear that he reconnected with her either, however, since he mentions his wife, who changed his life, but his wife isn't Christine Sullivan, and he doesn't mention her during the series so far.

A future episode may reveal what happened to Christine Sullivan, if only in a passing comment as Dan Fielding muses about his past. Markie Post was a major part of the original series' success and her contributions deserve to be acknowledged just as much as Harry Anderson's were. The Night Court reboot owes it to her memory to give Christine Sullivan's story the closure it didn't get in the original Night Court finale.

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  Night Court

  Cast:

  Melissa Rauch, India de Beaufort, Kapil Talwalkar, Dan Rubin, John Larroquette

  Release Date:

  2023-01-17

  Seasons:

  1

  Genres:

  Comedy, Sitcom

  Writers:

  Dan Rubin

  Story By:

  dan rubin

  Network:

  NBC

  Streaming Service(s):

  Peacock

  Directors:

  Dan Rubin

  Showrunner:

  Dan Rubin