Judy Sheindlin
At 78, TV’s toughtalking judge has no plans to slow down.
After 25 seasons on CBS presiding over thousands of cases, wise-cracking, tough-talking Judy Sheindlin is entitled to a well-deserved rest. “Perfect time is leaving on top at the 25 number,” Judy, 78, told gossip columnist Cindy Adams, a longtime friend. “You can’t stay at the party too long.”
Though spending her days under the Florida sunshine with Jerry Sheindlin, 86, her husband of over 40 years, sounds idyllic, it’s not Judy’s idea of fun. And that is great news for her legion of television fans. So after taping the final episodes of Judge Judy, scheduled to air in the 2020–2021 TV season, she’ll begin filming her as-yet-untitled new series. “I didn’t want to retire. I don’t have hobbies. I enjoy working,” she said.
The Brooklyn-reared judge, who was TV’s highest-paid host, raking in a whopping $147 million in 2018 according to
Forbes, is moving her courtroom over to Amazon, where new episodes should be available to stream next year. “Some details are iffy because COVID makes production cumbersome,” Judy explained. “We’ll shoot in LA. My sense is the audience can take a little more of me, so I’ll deliver 120 episodes.”
A NEW DAY
Judy will continue to be the star of her next series. “Governing by committee is not my strong suit,” she said. But there will be changes. Longtime participants in Judge
Judy, like announcer Jerry Bishop, who died in April at age 84, will be replaced. “[The] program, characters, the set, everything will be different," said Judy. “Me, the same. Me always in the middle chair. I’ll wear a robe. Different color. Maybe eggplant!”