The People's Court

The People's Court

The People's Court is a U.S. reality court show, currently presided over by former Florida State Circuit Court Judge Marilyn Milian, in which small claims cases are heard; though what is shown is actually a binding arbitration.

The People's Court is the first reality-based court show as it was the first court show that did not use actors, but showed the actual cases with the actual parties involved. Prior to The People's Court, TV courtroom shows, such as Traffic Court (1957) and People's Court of Small Claims (1959), only presented recreated or fictional cases (as did radio before that).

The People's Court has had 2 runs in production. The original run was presided over solely by former Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joseph Wapner. It ran in syndication from September 14, 1981 until May 21, 1993, when it was cancelled due to low ratings. This left the show with a total of 2,484 ½-hour episodes and 12 seasons. The original run was taped in Los Angeles. After being cancelled, reruns aired until September 9, 1994. Reruns later aired on the USA Network from October 16, 1995 to June 6, 1997.

On September 8, 1997, after being out of production for 4 years, the court show was revived for a 13th season. In September 2009, the court show's second run officially outlasted its original run when it reached 13 additional seasons, the first version having lasted 12. On September 3, 2012, The People's Court entered its 28th season by reaching an additional 16 seasons in its second run. It is the second longest-running court show, behind Divorce Court (though Divorce Court, beginning as a dramatized court show, did not introduce the reality aspect). The show's second run was taped in New York City up until taping for the show's 2012-13 season, when the show relocated to 300 Stillwater Avenue, Stamford, Connecticut.

The show's second run has been presided over by three judges: former lawyer and Mayor of New York Ed Koch, presided over the court show for 2 seasons (1997-98, 1998-99); following Koch, former New York Supreme Court Judge Jerry Sheindlin (husband of fellow television jurist, Judith Sheindlin of Judge Judy) presided over the court show for 2 seasons (1999-00, 2000-01); Milian then took over the bench in September 2001. By September 3, 2012, Milian reached her 12th season, presiding over the courtroom series, equalling that of Wapner. Unlike its original run, the show's second run airs in 1-hour time frames.