Judge Judy is getting personal – and high praise – after three decades as TV's most formidable judge.
Judy Sheindlin,83, is marking 30 years of Judge Judy with a CBS primetime special, “Judge Judy: Unfiltered, Unforgettable,” a 90-minute special airing Sept. 22 (8 p.m. ET/PT and streaming on Paramount+).
Sheindlin celebrates the 30th anniversary of the debut of “Judge Judy,” the courtroom phenomenon that turned the former New York Family Court judge into a TV icon.
The special traces Sheindlin’s path from a spirited childhood in Brooklyn to the New York City courtroom, where her tough, no-nonsense approach caught the attention of television producers. And it features plaudits from surprising sources such as Samuel L. Jackson and director Steven
Spielberg.
“Judge Judy” premiered in 1996 and became a daytime powerhouse, fueled by Sheindlin’s withering one-liners, impatience with excuses and blunt insistence on common sense.
But “Unfiltered, Unforgettable” ventures beyond the courtroom, with unprecedented access to Sheindlin’s private life, including never-before-seen home movies and material from her personal archives. Family members, longtime friends, former colleagues and even litigants discuss the woman behind the famous judicial robe.
The special also features some heavyweight Judge Judy fans, including Amy Poehler, RuPaul, Jackson, former Paramount Pictures chief Sherry Lansing and Spielberg.
Jackson recalls discovering firsthand that even a major movie star can be overshadowed by Judge Judy. The actor says he once met Sheindlin for tea in a London hotel lobby as passersby recognized her immediately.
“My God, Judge Judy, and that guy, that actor guy,” Jackson recalls of the reaction. “But they knew her way better than they knew me.”
Spielberg says his mother was such a devoted “Judge Judy” viewer that he once asked what made Sheindlin so appealing.
“Because she's not full of crap, she tells the truth, she calls it the way she sees it,” Spielberg recalls his mother explaining. “In a way she is the voice of myself that I don't let go out that far.”
Sheindlin’s son, former prosecutor Adam Levy, also appears in the special. Levy is following his mother into television with the new syndicated courtroom series “Adam’s Law,” which Sheindlin created and executive produces.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Samuel L. Jackson, Spielberg dish on Judge Judy in 30th anniversary special
