Judge Judy has been on air for almost as long as I can remember, bringing a lack of charm and toughness to daytime TV to settle small claims cases. The format works—Judge Judith Scheindlin has been on television for longer than any other small claims court program, including Divorce Court and People’s Court. Now, she’s signed on for four more seasons of the CBS-distributed daytime program.
The new deal means fans will get new episodes of Judge Judy through at least 2017. It’s a good deal for Judge Judy herself, who reportedly earns $45 million a season, and a good deal for CBS, as well. According to THR, the long-running series has been at the top of its game for 860 weeks in a row, beating out all other courtroom dramas in the ratings. Additionally, the show averages nine million viewers every day—which is more than all of the other original daytime content. People can’t get enough of sibling fights over crashed cars and couple who owe each other money from when they were dating.
With fewer names on the daytime landscape, including Anderson Live and The Jeff Probst Show (did anyone actually catch the latter?), Judge Judy should be equally as vital to the daytime landscape, next year. However, by the end of the show’s run, I wonder if it will have the same following it currently brings in, or if the show is destined to wind up on our forgotten list.
