Judge Judy Sheindlin has inked a deal to extend her long-running TV contract for another five years.
Judge Judy, now 72, has already been overseeing cases on the show for nearly 20 years – since the eponymous show first started in 1996. She is also reportedly one of the highest paid TV personalities in the world, earning an estimated $60.5 million (US $47 million) a YEAR!
With the plans for her to keep passing judgement for at least another five years – until the year 2020 – now committed to contract with US TV network CBS, it seems Judy’s fortunes are only going to keep getting bigger.
“I’m thrilled to be working with my CBS family for five more years and very excited about this new adventure in production,” Judy said in a statement announcing the deal.
“I loved the experience of creating and developing Hot Bench and look forward to replicating its success with more new, compelling and smart TV.”
With such a sweet deal, Judy is clearly very comfortable and it’s little wonder she has no plans to go anywhere anytime soon, even as the show is currently in its mind-boggling 19th season.
With an estimated 10.1 million viewers per episode in the States (according to Nielsen) – more than double that of the second highest rating Dr. Phil at 4.9mill, that makes Judy the most popular American daytime TV personality by far.
Armando Nunez, president and CEO of CBS said: “She is a true television icon who entertains and inspires millions of fans each day on Judge Judy. We look forward to continuing to provide our station partners with her highly successful show and to working with her to create the next generation of hits.”
