During a recent appearance onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show, the 77-year-old Emmy winner dropped two major bombshells — one, that her syndicated arbitration-based reality court show,Judge Judy,will be wrapping up its run after 25 years, and two, that she’s prepping a follow-up show titledJudy Justice.
“I’m not tired,” Sheindlin tells DeGeneres in their chat, which airs in full on Monday. “You’re not tired, you’re not supposed to stop!”
Sheindlin goes on to explain that she came to the decision of ending the popular series after sellingJudge Judy‘s 5,200-episode library, as well as rights to future episodes of the syndicated programto CBS for an estimated $100 million back in 2017.
The network was interested in making profits off reruns of the series, she explains, opening the door for Sheindlin to try something new.
“I’ve had a 25-year long marriage with CBS and it’s been successful. Next year will be our 25th season, silver anniversary. And CBS, I think, sort of felt they wanted to optimally utilize the repeats of my program because now they have 25 years of reruns,” Sheindlin says. “So what they decided to do was sell a couple of years worth of reruns.”
“Judy Justicewill be coming out a year later,” she says. “Judge Judyyou’ll be able to see, next year, a full year, all new shows. The following couple of years you’ll be able to catch all the reruns that CBS has sold to the stations that are currently carryingJudy. After that,Judy Justicewill be going elsewhere.”
Judge Judy.David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty
Judge Judy,which first premiered in 1996, is the highest-rated courtroom program in the United States, averaging roughly 9 million viewers a day. It’s won three competitiveEmmy awards.
The program made Sheindlin — a former prosecutor and retired family court judge who was first appointed to the bench in 1982 — a household name.
As for season 25 ofJudge Judy, Sheindlin told DeGeneres the show will be her “best” yet.
TheEllen DeGeneresShowairs weekdays in syndication.
source: people.com
