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11 months ago
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It’s official — Judy Justice is headed to broadcast syndication for fall 2024 launch. Scott Koondel’s Sox Entertainment, which distributes the Amazon Freevee show, has closed multi-year deals with major broadcast groups including Nexstar, Sunbeam, Cox Media, Weigel, and Mission Broadcasting in well over a 100 U.S broadcast markets, including all of the top 10. The company made the joint announcement with Amazon MGM Studios.
As Deadline noted in May, when rumors about a potential Judy Justice syndication play first surfaced, the move makes the first original court show on streaming also the first streaming show to sell into broadcast syndication.
This also marks a return to syndication for Sheindlin whose previous court show, CBS Media Ventures’ Judge Judy, continues to do well with repeats, averaging 5.6 million viewers season to date and leading all court shows as the No. 2 first-run daytime syndicated programs behind only Family Feud.
“What a full circle moment,” said Sheindlin. “This continues to be quite an adventure!”
About 260 episodes of Judy Justice have streamed on Freevee over the first two seasons, with Season 3 launching earlier this week (you can watch a promo below). The show, which has been renewed by the Amazon free, ad-supported platform for Seasons 3 and 4, will have close to 400 episodes available by the time of its planned fall 2024 rollout. None of them have been exposed to linear viewers so Judy Justice would be considered broadcast syndication exclusives.
“We are thrilled to bring Judy Justice to linear television audiences nationwide. With Judge Judy Sheindlin at the helm, viewers can expect a compelling and thought-provoking legal experience in high definition for the first time in broadcast,” said Koondel, CEO for Sox Entertainment and executive producer of Judy Justice. “I’m grateful that TV station groups have embraced this new innovative syndication model with talent that has been on broadcast stations for 28 years.”
Judy Justice is upping the ante on the cases featured with a $10,000 award offered to plaintiffs vs. $5,000 on Judge Judy.
“We remain honored that Her Honor agreed to go on this streaming adventure with us,” said Lauren Anderson, head of AVOD, unscripted, and targeted programming, Amazon MGM Studios. “Having firmly cemented her place as an icon of broadcast television, Judge Sheindlin took a pioneering risk bringing her new show and brand to a then-nascent service. Not only are we thrilled that her common sense, life skills building approach to justice has been a hit with cross-generational Amazon customers, we are beyond delighted that we, in partnership with Sox Entertainment, are now able to deliver Judy Justice back to hundreds of broadcast markets – and broadcast audiences – across North America. Full circle indeed.”
Judy Justice premiered on Amazon Freevee in November 2021. Judge Sheindlin is joined in the courtroom by newly minted lawyer Sarah Rose, who serves as the law clerk; court stenographer Whitney Kumar, a board-certified court reporter in the state of California; and bailiff Kevin Rasco, a retired Los Angeles probation officer. New episodes are released every weekday until April 5.
Judy Justice is executive produced and directed by Randy Douthit and co-executive produced by Amy Freisleben.
