SeriesEnded

Judge Judy (1996–2021)

25 seasons2,190 episodes30 min per episode★ 6.1 · 6,183 votes

• Comedy
• Crime
• Reality TV

Judge Judy is an American arbitration-based reality court show presided over by retired Manhattan Family Court Judge Judith Sheindlin. The show features Sheindlin adjudicating real-life small claims disputes within a simulated courtroom set. All parties involved must sign contracts, agreeing to arbitration under Sheindlin. The series is in first-run syndication and distributed by CBS Television Distribution. Judge Judy, which premiered on September 16, 1996, reportedly revitalized the court show genre. Only two other arbitration-based reality court shows preceded it, The People's Court and Jones and Jury. Sheindlin has been credited with introducing the "tough" adjudicating approach into the judicial genre, which has led to several imitators. The two court shows that outnumber Judge Judy's seasons, The People's Court and Divorce Court, have both lasted via multiple lives of production and shifting arbiters, making Sheindlin's span as a television arbiter the longest.

First aired

September 16, 1996

Last episode

July 23, 2021

Network

Syndication

Country of origin

United States