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Uh, just a second! There’s a new TV judge in town — and he has a pretty tough act to follow.
CBS Media Ventures released a trailer on Thursday for Adam’s Law, a new syndicated daytime courtroom series starring Adam Levy, the 58-year-old son of none other than tough cookie herself, Judge Judy.
If you happen to be a fan of the famed TV jurist’s trademark sharp wit, fiery tongue and zero-tolerance approach to nonsense, you’re in luck. The trailer shows her son appearing to bring that same courtroom energy, with Levy firing off quick-witted, cutting remarks from the bench that would make his mother — formally known as Judith Sheindlin — proud.
It turns out, however, that Sheindlin wasn’t all that keen at first on passing on the gavel. In the trailer, she admits she “wouldn’t have encouraged” her son to take on the show five or 10 years ago.
“Because I wasn’t ready to give it up,” the 83-year-old Judge Judy star said with a laugh. “And, quite frankly, I think he has the talent to beat me — and I don’t like the idea of that.”
The new series — which is executive produced by Sheindlin — is set to premiere on Sept. 14.
It comes five years after the original Judge Judy show ended, following a wildly successful 25-season run on CBS, where it became a No.1 first-run syndicated program, averaging 10 million viewers per episode.
And remember that iconic opening line from Judge Judy, delivered by a dramatic voiceover over equally dramatic courtroom music that had you glued to the couch? “The people are real. The cases are real. The rulings are final.”
Levy says viewers can expect the same kind of thrills and no-nonsense commitment to justice that made his mother a household name.
WATCH | The official trailer for Adam’s Law:
Levy has more than 25 years of legal experience, including serving two terms as a district attorney in New York’s Putnam County and teaching at both the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and the New York Prosecutors Training Institute.
“The best advice I would give to a litigant coming on Adam’s Law is tell the truth,” Levy said in the trailer. “When people make statements that are demonstrably false, that really bothers me.”
As for whether Sheindlin thinks her son has what it takes to step into her iconic shoes and carry on the family legacy, there’s little doubt in her mind. She said she firmly believes his show will become the “No. 1 program in daytime.”
“I’m confident that he has that kind of entertaining personality that will endear him to the same viewing public that has embraced me for 30 years,” she said in the trailer. “He understands the law, but he also became an academic with the law. He reads it, he remembers it. He has fabulous recall.
“And he’s got great TV eyes,” she added, prompting Levy to quip: “They’re your eyes!”
Levy is no stranger to courtroom reality TV, having previously served as a presiding judge on Tribunal Justice and Justice on Trial on Prime Video.
Adam’s Law will air on a number of CBS-owned stations, including CBS LA and WCBS-TV, in the U.S. The show will also air in Canada, but as of publication time, the start date is unconfirmed.
