For almost 30 years, Judy Sheindlin has been the one voice nobody wanted to hear call their name in court. Sharp tongue, unfiltered, zero patience for lies, and a stare that could make a grown man sweat. But now, the woman who built an empire is ready to hang up the robe.
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Sheindlin, 83, just confirmed she’s stepping away from being in front of the camera once her Prime Video show, Judy Justice, wraps up its run this October. She told PEOPLE she has other interests calling her name now, like afternoon naps and spending more time with family. This comes after a wild 44-year run behind the bench, both in real courtrooms and on TV screens across America.
This ain’t no small retirement. This woman has been doing this since 1996, and the show ran for 25 straight seasons before she pivoted to Judy Justice in 2021. If you were wrong, she told you. If you were lying, she called it before you even finished your sentence.
In her interview with PEOPLE, Judy kept it all the way honest about where her head’s at these days. “I don’t think that I’ve ever been this content before,” she said. “I don’t have to prove anything else. I did it.” And real talk, after nearly three decades of putting people in their place on national TV, she earned the right to say that.
But don’t get it twisted, Judy ain’t disappearing completely. She’s just moving from being the face of the operation to running things from behind the scenes. She’s producing a new show called Adam’s Law, starring her son Adam Levy, who’s stepping into his own spotlight after years of being in his mom’s shadow. Judy’s proud of him too, and she’s not shy about saying it. “There aren’t a lot of people who can carry a half hour on their own unscripted,” she said. “He has what it takes.”
She also got jokes about why she’s stepping back from being on camera. “I don’t want to do hair and makeup anymore, but I still want my message to get out there,” she said.
Judy’s also cooking up something different called the Judyverse, an adult animated show inspired by the viral AI “Baby Judge Judy” videos that had the internet in tears laughing earlier this year. So even without the black robe on, her personality’s about to live on in a whole new lane.