Watch Judge Judy HD for free on Banana HD

Judge Judy is an American arbitration-based reality court show hosted by retired Manhattan Family Court Judge Judith Sheindlin. Sheindlin adjudicates real-life small claims disputes in a simulated courtroom setting on the show. All parties concerned must sign contracts agreeing to Sheindlin arbitration. CBS Television Distribution distributes the show in first-run syndication. Judge Judy, which debuted on September16,1996, is credited with revitalizing the court show genre. Only two other arbitration-based reality court series, The People's Court and Jones and Jury, had come before it. Sheindlin is credited with introducing the "tough" adjudicating style to the judicial genre, which has spawned a slew of imitators. The two court series that have lasted longer than Judge Judy's seasons, The People's Court and Divorce Court, have both had many lives of production and changing arbiters, making Sheindlin's tenure as a television arbiter the longest. By2011, Judge Judy had been nominated for 14 consecutive Daytime Emmy Awards but had never won. On its 15th nomination, Judge Judy won its first Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program on June14, 2013. It is the first Emmy for a long-running, popular court show.