Shows After more than 20 seasons on the air, the television shows Judge Mathis and The People’s Court have both been canceled.
After having their first seasons air in 1999 and 1997, respectively, Judge Mathis and The People’s Court will have their final episodes air in seasons 24 and 26, respectively.
In the courtroom, Judge Mathis observes the titular Judge Greg Mathis handing out sentences to the defendants. According to Deadline, Judge Mathis has the distinction of being the longest-running Black male host on television. He is also the second-longest judge to serve in the history of courtroom television, coming in second place behind Judith Sheindlin, better known as Judge Judy.
Additionally, in 2018, the series was awarded the Daytime Emmy for outstanding legal/courtroom program, making it the first court show with a Black jurist to receive the honor.
Meanwhile, The People’s Court follows former Florida prosecutor Marilyn Milian as she judges real cases in small claims court. According to The Hollywood Reporter, this makes Milian the first Latina judge to host a nationally syndicated television court show. The show focuses on real-life small claims court proceedings.
The version of People’s Court that is currently airing is a reboot of the original series, which originally aired with Judge Joseph Wapner from 1981 until 1993 and accumulated a total of 39 seasons.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, The People’s Court, which received a total of 12 nominations, won four Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program, making it the court program with the most wins in that category.
According to Deadline, it was the first court show to use binding arbitration after introducing the format into the judicial genre in 1981. It was also the first reality series in the history of court television to become popular and continue airing for an extended period of time.
The cancellation of these shows follows the cancellation of numerous other daytime talk shows, including Dr. Phil, The Wendy Williams Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Dr. Oz, and The Real, amongst others.