Judy Sheindlin, star of one of the most successful daytime shows in broadcast syndication history, is moving her judgy act to Amazon’s IMDb TV (now Amazon Freevee).
Amazon’s free-to-consumer, ad-supported streaming service will launch what it’s calling the Untitled Judge Judy Sheindlin Project at an as-yet unannounced date.
“The Untitled Judge Judy Sheindlin Project will feature no-nonsense, expeditious Judge Sheindlin’s signature adjudication style with a new array of cases, litigants and judgments,” Amazon said.
Also Read: ‘Judge Judy’ to Wrap After 25 Years. What’s Next?
Sheindlin, 78, a former New York judge, has presided over Judge Judy since 1996, leading one of daytime syndications most popular half-hour "strips." ViacomCBS syndication arm CBS Domestic Television distributes the iconic Judge Judy.
It was widely reported in March that, after a falling-out with the high-level executive management at ViacomCBS put in place after the departure of Les Moonves in 2018, Sheindlin decided to move her show to another platform.
Judge Judy is set to end production at the end of the 2020-21 television season. Amazon reps have not announced when the new show will premiere on IMDb TV. Also not announced: whether co-star bailiff Petri Hawkins-Byrd, or any of the production team at Judge Judy production companies Paramount Domestic TV and Big Ticket TV, will join the new project.
Amazon’s press release quotes Scott Koondel, CEO of Sox Entertainment, Inc., saying “I'm thrilled to help with the transition of this entertainment phenom from over-the-air to over-the-top television.”
Koondel is a 25-plus-year CBS veteran, an Amazon rep said, who worked closely with Sheindlin over the years and has since formed Sox Entertainment. Variety reported earlier that Sheindlin partnered with Koondel to handle the sale of the new show.
The Amazon rep said details about the production will be announced at a later date.
“I’m over the moon to be in business with Amazon Studios and continuing this incredible journey with them on a new platform is so exciting,” Sheindlin said in a statement. “I used to yell at my husband, Jerry, for all the packages he had ordered from Amazon every day. I have enough mouthwash in the cabinets to keep the entire planet’s breath fresh until the next millennium. The doorbell never stops ringing. The dogs don’t even bark at the delivery people anymore. After I signed this deal, I apologized to Jerry. Who would have thought that the Sheindlin’s and Amazon would be mishpachah?”
Added Lauren Anderson and Ryan Pirozzi, co-heads of content and programming for IMDb TV: “Judge Judy Sheindlin is a TV icon and visionary who has entertained millions of fans for decades. As we build the IMDb TV slate of high-quality, ambitious Amazon Studios Originals, we are delighted to deliver customers a court program from the legendary Judge Sheindlin who, without a doubt, is the very best in the business.”
IMDb is the first AVOD platform to dive aggressively into original programming. The platform is set to debut Alex Rider, a youth spy thriller series based on writer Anthony Horowitz’s best-selling book franchise, on Nov. 13.
