Judge Judy is coming to an end after 25 seasons, but Judge Judy Sheindlin’s work as a daytime television judge will continue in another upcoming series. During a recent appearance onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show, Sheindlin revealed to Ellen that the 2020-21 season ofJudge Judywould serve as the swan song for the long-running series. Sheindlin went on to make it clear she would be back soon enough with a new show calledJudy Justice, though she doesn’t say which network or outlet will host the new series.
“Next year will be our 25th season, silver anniversary, and CBS sort of felt, I think, they wanted to optimally utilize the repeats of my program. Because now they have 25 years of reruns,“Judge Judy Sheindlintold Ellen, suggesting the network axed the show to instead focus on airing repeat episodes to save on production costs. The daytime TV judge also adds: “The following couple of years, you should be able to catch all the reruns that CBS has sold to the stations that are currently carryingJudge Judy, andJudy Justicewill be going elsewhere. Isn’t that fun?”
When you break down the numbers, it becomes easier to see the reasoning behind the network’s decision to cease production onJudge Judy. Through her current contract, Sheindlin is thehighest-paid television personality, earning $47 million a year from CBS. The network also signed a deal with Sheindlin to acquire the rights to the entireJudge Judylibrary, which was reportedly to the tune of nearly $100 million. Though certainly a hefty payout, this gives the network over 5,200 hours ofJudge Judyrepeats, and after the next season ends, they’ll no longer have to pay Sheindlin close to $50 million each year for new episodes.
Sheindlin’s upcoming switch from one popular television series to anew court showis reminiscent of the path Jerry Springer has taken following the end ofThe Jerry Springer Show. He has since begun appearing as a judge as the host of his own syndicated court seriesJudge Jerry, which premiered last fall. Obviously, it’s not quite as insane as his talk show was known to be, though Springer’s trademark sense of humor works its way into many of the featured small claims court cases. Last month, NBCUniversal ordered a second season ofJudge Jerry, and if Springer can find success with a new court show, then television’s most-watched judge has a shot at doing the same withJudy Justice.
As noted above, thecancellation of new episodesdoesn’t necessarily meanJudge Judyis going away, as the series will continue to air reruns on television for the foreseeable future. With an average of nine million viewers a day, the series is television’s most-watched court show, but it remains to be seen ifJudy Justicewill achieve these same levels of success. In any case, expect to see Sheindlin’s face on the small screen for many years to come. This news comes to us fromThe Hollywood Reporter.
