Melissa Rauch, ‘Night Court’ Star, on Her 10 Favorite Things

After almost a decade playing the microbiologist Bernadette on “The Big Bang Theory,” Melissa Rauch knew exactly what she wanted to do when the show ended in 2019.

“I just fell in love with the format,” she said of the traditional style of filming in front of an audience. “It was my goal to bring more multicamera sitcoms to the landscape.”

Rauch already had a production company at Warner Bros. And she had been a huge fan of the 1980s NBC comedy “Night Court,” starring Harry Anderson as Judge Harry T. Stone. Its irreverence. Its moments of heart. Its cranked-up, almost vaudevillian humor.

So she set out to produce what she called a “newboot,” this time about Judge Abby Stone, Harry’s daughter. She just didn’t want to star in it. But the network was asking her to. So was John Larroquette, who was hemming and hawing about reprising his role as the lawyer Dan Fielding.

“And I was like, ‘What am I doing?’” Rauch recalled. “If this script came to me, I’d be fighting for it. I’m being such a dummy.”

Rauch finally told Larroquette that she was in as Abby.

“I believe his words were, ‘Oh [expletive], now we’ve got to do this thing,’” Rauch said. (New episodes from Season 3 began airing last month on NBC.)

In a video call from Los Angeles, Rauch described the joy she finds at the mall, in kitchen conversations with her two children and in the pages of a blank notebook.

These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

Community Theater

I did community theater growing up, and I loved it so much. There’s something so special about the distilled joy of watching a curtain call full of people who are performing just for fun. A lot of times if I’m traveling, I’ll look to see what community theater they have going on that weekend. I’ve been known to sit at a curtain call and tear up and get very emotional.

Indoor Malls

The funny thing is, I have zero sense of direction. I’m terrible with maps. But drop me in a mall anywhere, and the Jersey girl in me is activated. I can find the food court, I can find an exit, I can find the Claire’s boutique, I can find the Wetzel’s Pretzels in no time.

Herbal Hocus-Pocus

I’m up for any and all Western medicine, but I just love an herbal remedy or a natural medicine hack. I had read years ago that you halve an onion and put it beside your bed for congestion. And I swear, you wake up in the morning and you’re like: “Am I in a bowl of chicken soup?”

Cozy Days

I just love being cuddled up as a family under blankets without a plan for the day. When I see a day that can be protected, I’ll make sure that it’s snacks and movies and PJs all day.

Golden Age Movies

My grandmother was a real cinephile in a way that I don’t even think any of us knew what that was. She would rent movies from the library and we would watch them together, especially ones from the 1940s and early ’50s — Bette Davis and Lauren Bacall and Jean Arthur. I was recently on a big Jean Arthur kick. I just love the rhythms and the pacing.

Kitchen Conversations

Cooking with my mom is something that I did my whole life, and some of our best conversations happen in the kitchen. And now that my kids are a bit older, they love getting involved with that, too. There’s something so meditative about cutting up vegetables and talking, especially at the end of a day.

Hand Warmers

I was very much born an old lady. I’m always cold. I always have hand warmers in my pockets. I’ll curl up with a heating pad like it’s a hot water bottle from the 1930s. And I always have a thermos filled with hot water. Give me hot water, and I am happy as a clam.

A Fresh Notebook

There’s that little sound, that little pop that happens when you’re first opening it. Then it’s just all this white space, and it’s very symbolic of the possibilities that are ahead.

My Foam Neck Contour Pillow

It has a groove that you put your head in at night. And I first thought this should not even be classified as a pillow; I have no interest in it. Then I tried one, and I was fully converted. Now if a pillow doesn’t conform completely to my neck and my head, I get angry.

Zillow Scrolling

It’s like a way to satisfy a wanderlust. I never have purchased anything. It’s just total internet window shopping. And I’ll dream about moving to whatever place I’m looking at, even though I don’t know what I would do for work there or I don’t know anyone. But if the kitchen looks nice, I’ll be like “Oh, I could do that.” If someone has posted a virtual tour of their home, I’m sure I’ve looked at it.