Judy Sheindlin, who is widely known for being a judge on the courtroom reality television series: Judge Judy, is developing a scripted series, Variety reports. The show which is titled Her Honor, will debut on CBS and is a drama series inspired by Sheindlin’s life
Michael Chernuchin, the Law & Order vet and Chicago Justice showrunner is penning the pilot. And Sheindlin will also be co-writing the series. Her Honor will follow the youngest judge in New York who handles all chaos that typically occurs in Family Court. However, the young judge struggles to take control of her own life outside of the courtroom. Despite scriptwriting being relatively new for Judge Judy, she is definitely no stranger to television. In fact, Sheindlin is currently the most profitable star on television, which is largely due to her long-running court TV series.
Judge Judy originally premiered in 1996 and has been renewed through 2020. Her new deal with CBS is reportedly worth more than her former contract, under which she was earning a massive salary of over $47 million per year. After signing the five-year extension deal, the pact also included an exclusive production deal to work on new projects through her Queen Bee Productions banner, which is also behind Hot Bench, another court show.
Given that Judge Judy is produced and distributed by CBS Television Distribution, it makes perfect sense that Sheindlin decided to team up with the network for Her Honor. The executive producers for the series are Sheindlin, Chernuchin, Arnold Kopelson and Anne Kopelson. Chernuchin has written well over 60 episodes for the popular Law & Order franchise and started working for the series back in 1991. Later he served as showrunner for Law & Order from 2002 to 2004. In addition to serving as showrunner on Dick Wolf’s NBC series Chicago Justice, Chernuchin other credits include Rogue, Black Sails and 24.
Judge Judy’s Her Honor is not the only series inspired by an unscripted TV star’s life. In the fall, Michael Weatherly will star in Bull, a legal drama based on the early life of television personality Dr. Phil.
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