The People's Court

This article is about the television series. For other uses, see People's Court (disambiguation).

The People's Court
GenreReality court show
Based onan idea by John Masterson
Presented byDoug Llewelyn
Curt Chaplin
Carol Martin
Harvey Levin
JudgesJoseph Wapner
Ed Koch
Jerry Sheindlin
Marilyn Milian
Narrated byJack Harrell
Curt Chaplin
Theme music composerAlan Tew
Opening theme"The Big One"
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons38 (12 original, 26 revival)
Production
Executive producersRalph Edwards
Stu Billett
Production locations
  • Los Angeles, California, U.S. (1981–1993)
  • New York City, U.S. (1997–2012)
  • Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. (2012–23)
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time30 minutes (1981–1993)
60 minutes (1997–2023)
Production companiesRalph Edwards Productions (1981–87)
Stu Billett Productions (1981–87)
Ralph Edwards-Stu Billett Productions (1987–93; 1997–2023)
Warner Bros. Television
Original release
NetworkSyndication
ReleaseSeptember 14, 1981 (1981-09-14) –
May 28, 1993 (1993-05-28)
ReleaseSeptember 8, 1997 (1997-09-08) –
July 21, 2023 (2023-07-21)
Related
Judge Wapner's Animal Court
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

The People's Court is an American arbitration-based reality court show, featuring an arbitrator handling small claims disputes in a simulated courtroom set. Within the court show genre, it is the first of all arbitration-based reality-style programs, which has overwhelmingly become the convention of the genre. The original series ran from 1981 to 1993, and the revival ran from 1997 to 2023. Both versions ran in first-run syndication. The show ranks as the longest-running traditional court show and second-longest-running court show in general, having a total of 38 overall seasons as of the 2022–23 television year, behind only niche court show Divorce Court by 2 seasons.

The first version of The People's Court was presided over solely by former Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joseph Wapner. The final incarnation of the show had different presiding judges: former New York City Mayor Ed Koch (1997–1999), former New York Supreme Court Judge Jerry Sheindlin (1999–2001), and former Florida State Circuit Court Judge Marilyn Milian (2001–2023). Milian is the show's longest-reigning arbiter, having made it to 20 years of presiding over the series by spring 2021.[1]

The program is the third highest rated of court shows after only Judge Judy reruns (ended the original run in July 2021) and Hot Bench (produced by Judy Sheindlin), respectively.[2] With Judge Judy's end at 25 seasons in 2021, The People's Court's revival now boasts the genre's longest single production continuance having entered its 26th season in the 2022–23 television year (albeit having gone through 3 arbitrators). In June 2021, The People's Court won its 4th Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program, which officially gives it the most Daytime Emmy wins in the court show genre. In February 2023, it was confirmed that the 26th season of the revival would be its last.[3] The final episode aired on July 21, 2023.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference warnerbros1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "The People's Court | About". Peoplescourt.warnerbros.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  3. ^ Schneider, Michael (February 17, 2023). "Judge Mathis, People's Court Canceled By Warner Bros. After More Than Two Decades". Variety. Retrieved February 17, 2023.