Anybody who has ever had to stay home sick from work or school has undoubtedly had the pleasure of experiencing the majesty that is daytime TV. While the primetime series duke it out in the evenings, a quieter war for ratings rages on while the sun is still out. Among all of these daytime TV series, one has proven to be the unequivocal victor of the bunch: Judge Judy.
The Nielsen ratings are in and Judge Judy continued to dominate among the top 25 syndicated daytime TV show during Thanksgiving week. According to TV by the Numbers, the courtroom series has held this top spot among its competitors for the last 23 weeks with no sign of flagging or failing. Coming in with a 7.8 household rating, Judge Judy has absolutely blown the competition out of the water. In terms of demographics, the show experiences immense popularity among women between the ages of 25 and 54, which is the prominent demo used to gauge the success of daytimes television programs. Basically, Judge Judy is crushing, despite the fact it's been on the air since 1996.
Judge Judy isn't the only series doing well on daytime. We went ahead and listed the top 5 morning shows this week, to give you a gauge of what's doing well right now, along with their daytime household ratings. Go ahead and check out the ranking of the top rated daytime TV shows for yourself:
5. The Big Bang Theory--syndicated (5.6 household rating)5. Family Feud (5.6 household rating)3. Wheel of Fortune(6.1 household rating)2. Weekend Adventure (6.8 household rating)1. Judge Judy (7.8 household rating)
Some of these are less surprising than others, but it's still interesting to see that a comedy like The Big Bang Theory can do well even when it's not airing a first-run episode on TV.
A lot of these shows, including Judge Judy, have made a name for themselves over the years. The #1 show has become iconic over the better part of the last 20 years for featuring some genuinely outlandish participants – both plaintiffs as well as defendants – who border on the absolutely absurd. It also derives much of its entertainment value from Judy Sheindlin’s unapologetic verbal assaults towards them. Only a few months ago, one defendant on the show incriminated himself in less than a minute for pretty much directly confessing to the crime he had adamantly denied ever taking part in. Also, memorably, in 2010 a group of friends actually made up a fake legal dispute that they used to fraudulently get on the show involving the murder of a domestic cat. Check that case out below:
So if you’re in the market for some hilarious legal drama during the daylight hours, Judge Judy is still the show to turn to. After almost 20 years on the air, it has continued to dominate the weekly ratings for syndicated daytime television, and seemingly shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. With any luck we will see Judy Sheindlin continuing to scream at people over minor civil disputes for a long time.
