INTERVIEW: Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski Take to New York in a New Episode of ‘Night Court’

Night Court has been a joy of a revival on NBC, bringing some of our favorite characters back mixed with new cases and a new judge in Abby Stone. And while the series is reminiscent of the original series, it also has some fun new additions to the cast to make fans excited for each new episode. Like Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir!

Talking with Lipinski and Weir, part of the joy of doing a show like Night Court comes from getting to do it with their best friend at their side. Both Lipinski and Weir have become a duo from their jobs as commentators at things like the Olympics for figure skating, a sport that gave both Weir and Lipinski their start. But something like Night Court allows them to have fun and play exaggerated versions of themselves.

“I think that for Johnny and I, we really appreciate all the opportunities that come our way outside of figure skating and outside of being commentators and analysts,” Lipinski said. “I think we both feel so grateful that since 2014 when we joined up, that we’ve really been able to experience so many different areas of entertainment. Whether it’s for hosting a wedding cake show for the Food Network or we’re showing up at the Super Bowl or Kentucky Derby or showing up at Night Court. And I think that, for me, I always feel, so at home when I’m working with Johnny, so to be able to have these experiences, to get these experiences together as not only friends but as work partners, it’s just incredible memories that go down in the book that we get to look back on.”

For Weir, he agreed with Lipinski and shared in the love for getting to work with her. “Completely agree to everything that she just said,” he said. “We definitely love seeing how strangers portray us and how they perceive us. And we love when things are written and we look at each other and we’re like, we’d never say that. So it is fun to actually play a version of ourselves that somebody else has dreamt up. And it’s the same for Night Court as has been for so many other opportunities that we’ve had. And any chance that we have to go to work together, we just jump at it. We love it. This offer came in and we were like, you doing anything next weekend? No, I’m not either, so let’s do it. We have the best time with everything we do and we are as authentic as you would think we would be for everything that we do. And that just makes it so worthwhile and so lovely to do. It’s not like we’re going to work, we’re going to hang out with our friend and do something fun.”

Commentating on Dan Fielding

We know Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski from their own time figure skating but we know them now more for their commentary on the sport. And in their episode of Night Court, we saw them doing a commentary on John Larroquette’s court stylings and it was a fun nod to what we know them for now. So I asked about the joy in that.

“Commentating is our, our bread and butter,” Lipinski said. “It’s our main gig and we know it inside and out for skating. So to do something on Night Court like this where it’s a lot of fun, heightened versions of ourselves and to quote unquote commentate in the courtroom was an enjoyable day for us. Something new. “

But Weir said that it was a wonderfully fun thing for them normally to do. “To be fair though, you should see us when we just go out to dinner and commentate about the other patrons or walk through ’em all and the commentary that happens. I think it’s just the same as anyone else who has a best friend that’s like tumbling through life alongside their love.”

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Night Court airs on Tuesdays on NBC!

(Featured image: NBC)