Judge Judy and Hot Bench, CBS Media Ventures’ genre-leading court shows, have been renewed through the 2025-26 TV season in more than 95% of the country, Greg Guenther, senior VP of domestic sales for CBS Media Ventures, said in a statement on Friday.
Judge Judy, starring Judge Judy Sheindlin, had previously been renewed by the CBS- and Fox-owned television stations. Joining CBS and Fox are the Sinclair, Nexstar Media Group, E.W. Scripps, Tegna, Gray Television, Hearst Television and Weigel Broadcasting groups. Judge Judy ended original production in May 2021 and has been airing on TV stations in repeats ever since.
“In the third year of its library run, Judge Judy is the most powerful court show on the air, averaging 6.1 million viewers and ranking fourth out of all shows in national syndication. No other show can claim a proven track record like Judge Judy,” said Guenther in a statement.
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Hot Bench, a panel talk show created by Sheindlin that was launched in 2014, was reupped for two more years by CBS Stations in major markets, as well as stations owned by Sinclair, Nexstar, Tegna, Scripps, Fox, Gray and Weigel.
“Hot Bench is the only court show to grow year over year this season, increasing 14% in total viewers and 13% among the key women 25-54 demographic,” Guenther said, citing Nielsen.
Sheindlin is poised to be the creative force behind four syndicated court shows. Besides starring in Judge Judy, she also created and executive produced Hot Bench for CBS. After Judge Judy concluded in 2021, Sheindlin moved her operation over to Amazon where she stars in and executive produces Judy Justice for Amazon Freevee. She also created panel talk show Tribunal Justice, which stars Sheindlin’s son, Adam Levy, as well as two of Hot Bench’s original stars, Judges Patricia DiMango and Tanya Ackner. Judy Justice premieres in national syndication this fall, with Tribunal Justice expected to join in fall 2026.
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Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.
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