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Poster for Judge Judy

Judge Judy

Seen it?

1996 | 25 seasons | 22 min | Crime

Weeknight Watchearly rating

Why it’s a Weeknight Watch

People are still talking about it, but a lukewarm 5.7 out of 10 from audiences held it back. Fine if it's on; don't plan your night around it.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it
Made for crime fans.
The mood
Gritty.
The pace
25 seasons and 2190 episodes: a long-haul commitment, short, snackable episodes, about 803 hours in all.
What might put you off
  • Rated TV-PG. Worth a look first if you have very young kids.
  • A big time investment at 25 seasons.

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.

How it earned its rating

  • CriticsNot counted

    Not enough reviews on record yet

  • AudiencesBelow par

    5.7 out of 10

  • AwardsNot counted

    No major awards or nominations

  • Reach & staying powerSolid

    Ran for 25 seasons and reached a small audience so far; still draws a steady audience long after release

  • Buzz & cultural impactVery strong

    About 943K people sought it out in the past year, and interest is climbing

Season by season

The show overall is a Weeknight Watch. Here's how each season stacks up.

  1. Season 11996 · 95 episodes
    Not rated yet
  2. Season 210 episodes
    Not rated yet
  3. Season 32 episodes
    Not rated yet
  4. Season 62001 · 186 episodes
    Not rated yet
  5. Season 72002 · 6 episodes
    Not rated yet
  6. Season 101 episode
    Not rated yet
  7. Season 1211 episodes
    Not rated yet
  8. Season 1317 episodes
    Not rated yet
  9. Season 1410 episodes
    Not rated yet
  10. Season 156 episodes
    Not rated yet
  11. Season 163 episodes
    Not rated yet
  12. Season 172012 · 260 episodes
    Not rated yet
  13. Season 182013 · 260 episodes
    Not rated yet
  14. Season 192014 · 260 episodes
    Not rated yet
  15. Season 202015 · 121 episodes
    Not rated yet
  16. Season 212017 · 260 episodes
    Not rated yet
  17. Season 222017 · 260 episodes
    Not rated yet
  18. Season 232018 · 260 episodes
    Not rated yet
  19. Season 242019 · 121 episodes
    Not rated yet
  20. Season 252020 · 41 episodes
    Not rated yet

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Cast & crew

Created by Judith Sheindlin

  • Judith SheindlinSelf - Judge
  • Petri Hawkins-ByrdSelf - Bailiff
  • Steven KamerSelf - Announcer (voice)