In 1984, Shelley joined the cast of the nighttime sitcom Night Court for its second season. She was cast to play public defender Christine Sullivan, a character to be romantically involved with Judge Harry Stone (played by Harry Anderson). Shelley said, "I liked the show. They offered me the role. I went and met with them and liked them." But when the series started shooting, producer Reinhold Weege decided she wasn't right for the part. Shelley explained, "What happened was the role was changed somewhere between that meeting and my first day on the set." Director Jeff Melman said, "We rehearsed and... for the first episode. And we had a run through for the network and they made the decision that, you know, Shelley Hack wasn't working and wanted to replace her." So the actress and the producer Weege mutually and amicably agreed to call the whole thing off. According to Richard Moll, who played bailiff Bull Shannon in the sitcom, "Shelley Hack was very sweet. She lasted about 16 minutes, as I remember, yeah. That was tough." Ellen Foley was brought in for that season to replace Shelley - as a new character, public defender Billie Young.
