Judge Judy

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 claim 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 natively on September 16, 1996, reportedly revitalized the court show genre. Only two other arbitration-based reality court shows preceded it, The People's Court (its first life canceled in 1993 from low ratings) and Jones & Jury (lasting only the 1994–95 season, short-lived from low ratings). Sheindlin has been credited with introducing the "tough" adjudicating approach into the judicial genre, which has led to several imitators. The only 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. Thus Sheindlin's span as a television judge or arbitrator has lasted longer than any other—a distinction that rewarded her a place in the Guinness World Records in September 2015. With no cancellations or temporary endings in its series run, Judge Judy also enjoys the longest lasting individual production life of any court show.