From soap operas like the still-going Days of Our Lives to game shows like The Price Is Right, the worlds of morning and daytime television can seem blissfully unending and never-changing, given how consistent such shows' popularity can be. But all things must come to an end, I suppose, which is the case for CBS TV's Judge Judy, which has been cancelled and will end after a 25-season run. But don't be too worried about Judy Sheindlin, however, because she's got a new project in the works that will keep her on our TVs for years to come.
Arguably the most recognizable TV judge to ever enter the chambers – as well as inarguably the highest-paid TV personality – Judy Sheindlin announced that her iconic TV series Judge Judy has been sentenced to cancellation with CBS Television Distribution, though not before production has concluded on its 25th season, which will air in syndication through 2020-2021. So fans will have a slew of new cases to enjoy before saying goodbye to Judge Judy proper.
The Judge Judy star appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to make her big announcement, saying:
I've had a 25-year-long marriage with CBS, and it's been successful. Next year will be our 25th season, silver anniversary. CBS, I think, sort of felt they wanted to optimally utilize the repeats of my program. Because now they have 25 years of money-making reruns. So what they decided to do was to sell a couple of years' worth of reruns. But I'm not tired, so Judy Justice will be coming out a year later.
First, the segment started off by being focused on Judy Sheindlin's ponytail, with Greta Garbo and Elizabeth Taylor references made. As such, it didn't seem like anyone was about to make announcements about huge changes on the way for her TV show. Alas, execs at CBS Television Distribution (and presumably others at CBS) felt that 25 years was a meaningful enough time to pull the plug on this endeavor in particular. After an untold numbers of episodes – each season reportedly provides 250+ installments – Judge Judy will slam her gavel down one final time whenever Season 25 wraps in 2021.
However, nobody should be counting Judy Sheindlin out for the count, since Judge Judy reruns will probably be around until the end of time. She was also was quite excited to share with Ellen DeGeneres and her audience that she will have the series Judy Justice coming down the line, though she couldn't share all that much about the new project just yet.
In fact, Judy Sheindlin couldn't even say where the show will be heading, beyond implying that it won't be handled by CBS. In her words:
I can't tell you yet. That's exciting news. Judge Judy, you'll be able to see; full year, all new shows. The following couple of years, you should be able to catch all the reruns that CBS has sold to the stations that are currently carrying Judge Judy, and Judy Justice will be going elsewhere. Isn't that fun?
Considering a new season of Judge Judy episodes still needs to be produced, it doesn't seem like work on Judy Justice will get started in earnest until next year. But that's without knowing what the new show's format is, nor how many other people will be involved. (What if it was a head-to-head battle with fellow TV judge Jerry Springer?)
I'm not saying that this had anything to do with the choice to end the show, but Judge Judy featured one of its most open-and-shut cases recently, with the TV judge completely flipping opinions on the situation after watching a video clip. It would have been the perfect finale, in my opinion. Check it out below.
With no actual end date set in stone just yet, Judge Judy will be around for Season 25, which will air in the 2020-2021 season. Check your local listings to see when and where the show plays in your area. And check out all the other new and returning shows hitting the small screen soon with our Winter and Spring TV premiere schedule.
