In the world of TV courtrooms, Judy Sheindlin is an absolute icon, with her eponymous series Judge Judy airing for 25 seasons before its cancellation in 2021. Now fans of the judge’s tough-love approach to small-claims court and the feisty personality that at one time had Justin Bieber “scared to death” will have the opportunity to see her take on new cases on Judy Justice, as the streaming series is coming to cable. This may sound like good news to her viewers, but the announcement was apparently not so welcome for CBS, who allegedly tried to keep the deal from happening.
Since Judge Judy ended, CBS has continued to air repeat episodes of the court show. Now, with Amazon’s Freevee offering new content to U.S. broadcasting markets via Judy Justice, Sheindlin’s two shows will likely be competing for the same time slots in some markets. An insider alleges that the Columbia Broadcasting System didn’t take this lying down and has been “trying to keep Judy out of the marketplace,” per Page Six.
Judy Justice coming to cable does seem like it would be a pretty big problem for CBS. While viewers are seemingly fine to watch Judge Judy reruns in absence of another option, what is the likelihood that they would choose a repeat episode over new content that still features their favorite TV judge?
The trade reports that CBS was “gobsmacked” by Freevee and Sox Entertainment’s bringing Judy Justice to syndication — a move that was orchestrated by Sox CEO Scott Koondel, who also previously worked with Judy Sheindlin at CBS on Judge Judy. The Eye Network is reportedly working to secure the most coveted time slots for Judge Judy, while similarly:
Sox aims to elbow aside the old show and nab the best stations and time slots for Judy Justice.
Judy Justice has quite a bit of content to offer fans, as well. Nearly 250 episodes of the court show have been produced ahead of the series’ premiere this fall. However, there’s still at least one thing that Judge Judy can offer over the newer series (which in addition to Freevee can be streamed with an Amazon Prime Video subscription), and that is seeing Judy Sheindlin work alongside bailiff Petri Hawkins-Byrd.
When Judge Judy ended its 25-season run, the judge’s longtime bailiff was not asked to continue with her on Justice Judy, with Kevin Rasco taking over those duties. Petri Hawkins-Byrd instead went to his own spinoff, Tribunal Justice, which was created by Judy Sheindlin and features a trio of legal professionals — Tanya Acker, Patricia DiMango and Adam Levy — debating real cases. The series premiered in 2023 and is available to stream on Freevee.
It will be interesting to see what happens to Judge Judy when the popular judge is put in competition with herself and Judy Justice. Keep an eye on the 2024 TV schedule for that and all of the upcoming premieres, and check your local listings to see which of these series — if not both — will be offered in your area.
