We’ve actually covered this before, but it’s worth noting again today because (a) it’s in the news thanks to a recent New York Times profile, (b) I just found this picture of her with the Fonz, and (c) it’s still kind of insane, so here goes: Judge Judy gets PAID.
From the profile, emphasis mine:
“Increasingly, daytime viewers are pushing back against celebrity, seeking authenticity and demanding high relatability,” said Dan Wilch, a senior television analyst at Frank N. Magid Associates. “Judy just nails every single one.”
Judge Sheindlin, who tapes only 52 days a year, for which CBS pays her an estimated $47 million, has her own theories about her program’s continued popularity.
“People take comfort in order,” she said. “I also move swiftly, as opposed to a justice system and a government that is slow and meandering.” In other words, “Judge Judy,” which features real small-claims cases, offers people a fantasy — a legal system as they would like it to be.
A million dollars a day to handle petty disputes for about 10 weeks a year is pretty good work if you can get it.
