Night Court Season 3's Surprising Offscreen Breakup Addressed By Lacretta

Donna “Gurgs” Gurganous is single again in Night Courtseason 3, and the actor behind the character shares her thoughts on what happened. Lacretta is an actor, singer, and comedian whose role on Night Court has been her longest and most substantial television appearance yet. Outside of the screen, audiences may know the actor from her theater work, which includes roles in the first national tour of The Book of Mormon, the original Broadway production of Disaster!, and the Off-Broadway run of Avenue Q.

As a reboot of a beloved sitcom, Night Court connects to the original series by not only bringing back original cast members, but featuring characters that serve as spiritual successors to the original’s. For example, Lacretta’s bailiff character Donna “Gurgs” Gurganous takes the position, and seeming nickname inspiration, from Richard Moll’s Nostradamus “Bull” Shannon. Of course, Gurgs is her own character, and one whose ambition has earned her a position of more authority in season 3.

A composite image of Dan Fielding looking at the camera in front of Abby Stone smirking while looking to the side in Night Court

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ScreenRant's Rachel Foertsch spoke with Lacretta about her role as Donna "Gurgs" Gurganous in Night Court season 3. Lacretta discussed Gurgs’ exciting new position as Chief Bailiff and related the character’s promotion to her own experience as someone who isn’t “fresh out of college”. Plus, Lacretta discussed Gurgs’ relationships with other key members of the Night Court season 3 cast.

Lacretta Talks Gurgs’ New Role As Chief Bailiff In Night Court Season 3

“I Didn’t Know That There Was Such A Thing As A Chief Bailiff”

ScreenRant: It’s been quite an eventful couple of episodes. Gurgs is Chief Bailiff. It's a big step in her career. Were you surprised that she was going to be moving up?

Lacretta: Yes. I didn't know that there was such a thing as a Chief Bailiff. I'm very proud of her because, as you watch the episode, there was some doubt as to if she [would] even be considered—would they go with someone younger who's fresh out of college? As a person who is not fresh out of college, I often wonder, if I were to have to get a nine to five or if I were to go teach, would I really be qualified to do something like that? Because I've been out of school for so long.
So, it was a valid concern to have, but she still pressed through, did a bang-up job in her interview, and was rightfully promoted. It’s life. It’s what we do. We try to put ourselves out there. We hope that we're brave enough to put ourselves out there.
With me in the gaming industry, there are so many gaming leagues, brands, ambassadors, and affiliate programs that are out there. To have the bravery to approach them and show them why it would be a good fit for you, and then to eventually get picked up by those things, feels good.

What would you say is the biggest difference for Gurgs now that she's in this role? Are there any new challenges that are going to come up on the job?

Lacretta: You'll see the challenges that are going to come up in the next couple of episodes, but when the pendulum is over here, it will eventually swing the other way and kind of normalize for her, and it'll be more manageable. But yeah, it's going to be pretty chaotic in those first couple of episodes now that she's Chief Bailiff.

Gurgs’ Dynamic With Other Key Night Court Season 3 Characters Explained

Gurgs Goes On Adventures And Puts Her Foot Down

Judge Abby Stone (Melissa Rauch) shows up to court with a straw hat with a big sunflower on it as

Dan and Flobert were both very determined to help Gurgs, but [I’m not sure if they] actually did anything besides get into a very well-timed argument.

Lacretta: And it was great because then we got to see Gurgs put her foot down, which we very rarely see because she's such a bubbly person. But for her to be like “Rah!” was a surprising moment for me. [With her] saying that she was going to pull their skeletons out of their bodies, I was like, “Okay, girl.” But it got the job done. They understood the assignment and then they dispersed.

Night Court is at its best when it's chaotic. I want to talk about the episode where Gurgs and Abby were taking the lie detector test. What were your thoughts on that storyline?

Lacretta: It was fun. It was really lovely, and the young lady that played his daughter was so smart and so kind, and it just seemed like she had always been there. I love that she just kind of fell into place, and anytime I get to have an adventure with Melissa (Rauch, who plays Abby), it's always a delight. I think that's one of my favorite episodes. I say that every episode.

Lacretta Doesn’t Know Why Gurgs And The Duke Broke Up

But Long Distance Might Be The Culprit

Rhys Darby as Alistair and Lacretta as Gurgs in Night Court season 2, episode 12, "The Duke's a Hazard".

That’s also the episode where we found out that Gurgs and the Duke broke up.

Lacretta: Yeah. I didn't ask. I should have asked to see what [caused it]. For me it was probably [that] the distance is probably a hard thing. Especially with her now having added roles, managerial roles, she's not going to be able to traipse off to London every couple of weeks and spend time with him. So, it may have been something that was just distance. It's hard, and hard to keep the communication going between two people, but she has been known to have a boo and a backup boo.

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About Night Court

Night Court is a 2023 series following optimistic judge Abby Stone, daughter of the late Harry Stone, as she oversees the night shift of a Manhattan arraignment court, navigating a group of quirky and skeptical colleagues, including former prosecutor Dan Fielding.

Night Court airs Tuesdays at 8:30pm on NBC.